Investigation Resumes into Illegal Recording and Distribution of Phone Conversations of Vanetzyan, Pashinyan, and Sassoun Khachatryan

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that the investigation into the illegal recording and distribution of phone conversations between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, former NSS Director Arthur Vanetzyan, and Sassoun Khachatryan has resumed at the National Security Committee of Armenia's Investigative Committee, based on reliable sources.

Previously, investigators used to suspend unresolved criminal cases, but now the situation has changed. The new Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia clearly stipulates that either the criminal proceedings are terminated, or criminal prosecution is initiated, and the case is sent to court with an accusatory conclusion. This means that the legal procedure for suspending unresolved criminal proceedings is no longer provided in the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.

In the past, investigators would put cases on hold for years in their "safes," but now they are required to continue investigations.

It is noteworthy that on September 11, 2018, the illicit recording of conversations between former NSS Director Arthur Vanetzyan and Sassoun Khachatryan surfaced online, which was later closed due to the absence of a criminal composition. The criminal case initiated on the illegal recording and distribution of phone conversations involving Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Arthur Vanetzyan, and Sassoun Khachatryan was also suspended. Now, the investigation in this regard will be resumed. It may not be difficult to predict how this will end.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.