Former Minister Seyran Ohanyan Surprised by Prosecution Initiation

Former Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan was caught off guard yesterday upon learning that the Prosecutor General had submitted three motions to the National Assembly to obtain consent for criminal prosecution against him. Notably, the prosecutor's office had sent the motions to the National Assembly and immediately issued a statement, but the leadership of the National Assembly informed the MP about these motions quite late, after the news had already spread.

Today, the newspaper "Hraparak" reports that sources within the coalition told the media that at the end of the year, the authorities not only orchestrated a leak about this in the press, but some also warned Ohanyan, although he did not believe them. It seems that Nikol Pashinyan believes that by decapitating the largest opposition coalition, he will diminish the resistance against him. Possibly, Ohanyan's recent statement, saying that the latest incident is enough for the entire team to resign, also played a role in this situation. It is also possible that the aim is to divert people's attention from the "former thieves" in light of that tragedy.

As for the ruling Civil Contract party, they too were surprised by the motion, and yesterday they had not yet received instructions on how to vote. This issue will be discussed on February 7, which means the motion was sent 16-17 days early, although they could have sent it the day before.