The Son of Gurgan Arsenyan from the CPP, Convicted of Stealing 20,000 Drams from His Father's Home, Released Early

Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan, the son of Gurgan Arsenyan, a businessman and deputy of the Civil Contract faction, has been released early from serving his sentence. This was confirmed by the Penitentiary Service in response to a query from Tert.am.

Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan's sentence was set to end on September 9, 2022; however, the younger Arsenyan, who had a previous conviction, was released early from serving his sentence: "Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan has been released early from his sentence on June 6, 2022." The news outlet reports that he had been detained in connection with the theft of 20,000 drams from his father's home.

It is noteworthy that this is Gurgan Arsenyan's second conviction. He was also sentenced for committing hooliganism with a weapon in 2016 in front of the "Crystal" nightclub in Yerevan. He received a four-year prison sentence; however, the punishment was not applied conditionally, and a two-year probation period was established, from which he was released under amnesty in December 2018.

Regarding the case of stealing 20,000 drams, Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan was charged with robbery, having intended to steal money from his father’s housekeeper, Tonya Manukyan, by threatening her with a knife and damaging valuable wall paintings for his father. On September 9, 2020, he went to the specified apartment, threatened her with a knife, damaged paintings considered valuable by his father, and demanded she give him all the money in her wallet. After stealing 20,000 drams and hearing his father's footsteps, he dropped the knives he was holding and fled the scene.

During the trial, defendant Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan did not plead guilty, claiming to have had a tense relationship with his father. In his testimony, he stated: "I have been in a bad relationship with my father for years, stemming from the fact that he doesn't approve of my lifestyle, and I do not want to live my life according to his dictates. I want to live freely, criticizing my father and fighting to maintain my principles. For that reason, I have lived separately from him for the past several years in my own apartment, engaging in music and working for income, but it has not been enough to cover my daily expenses, which is why I sought his help, who has sometimes refused to give me money or given me significantly less than what I needed. Therefore, there have been conflicts between me and Tonya, and indeed, during these times, I have also damaged property in my father's house, including very important paintings to him. The purpose was to exert pressure to obtain money.

On the day of the incident, I needed money, but a few days before that, I had another conflict with my father and knew he would not give me money, so I gave Tonya money to cover daily household expenses.”

The victim, Tonya Manukyan, testified that she has been working for Gurgan Babken Arsenyan for 25 years and regards him as the child she raised. She noted he has displayed aggression for several years, particularly over the last seven years.

According to the psychiatric examination conclusions concerning Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan, he does not suffer from a mental illness but is characterized as having a hysterical personality type. According to medical records, in 2019, he was diagnosed with "Mental and behavioral disorders due to the combined use of psychoactive substances." Therefore, Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan was deemed legally competent concerning the crime with which he was charged.

According to the examination data from that year, Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan suffered from a diagnosis of F19.2, necessitating compulsory treatment, for which he had no contraindications. The court requalified Gurgan Arsenyan's indictment and found him guilty under Article 182, Part 1 of the Armenian Criminal Code, sentencing him to two years of imprisonment. The term of punishment commenced on September 9, 2020, and was set to end on September 9 of the current year. In addition to the punishment, Gurgan Gurgeni Arsenyan was also assigned compulsory treatment for drug addiction.