Systematic Campaign Against 'Nor Zovk': Company's Statement

The defense team of 'Nor Zovk' has issued a statement indicating that the supermarket chain is facing systematic coercive and administrative pressures. The full statement is presented below.

The second largest supermarket chain in Armenia has been subjected for a considerable time to systematic coercive and administrative pressures, accompanied by gross violations of the presumption of innocence, the application of detention as punishment against individuals, and substantial harm, both material and non-material, to the company. As a result, 'Nor Zovk', established in 1999 and known for affordable and quality products, with its 29 branches and about 1,600 employees, finds itself in a crisis.

Analyzing the circumstances and reviewing the detention order, the defense team of 'Nor Zovk' stated today that the courts have not provided a single factual basis regarding the necessity to detain the entire management team of 'Nor Zovk' and deny the company its guaranteed right to operate normally.

Moreover, law enforcement and tax authorities have not provided reasonable explanations as to why all technical means are being seized instead of making copies of programs and data, effectively depriving the company of its ability to maintain accounting, fulfill obligations to suppliers, conduct monetary transfers to settle credit, tax, and other obligations, and calculate and pay salaries for around 1,600 families. The motions submitted to the prosecuting authority in this regard have remained unanswered.

'After receiving the decisions regarding the detention of four defendants, it seems that all of them are texts written by one person, where the formulations presented by the investigators are merely stated formatively. We have presented several factual data that refute the reasonable doubt to the courts, which have not only remained unaddressed in the court ruling but also have not analyzed the data provided by the investigators to substantiate how sufficient they are to affirm the existing doubt. Furthermore, the courts have not justified why other precautionary measures, including bail, house arrest, or even their combination, cannot be applied, which once again underscores our concerns regarding the directed nature of the case,' said the head of the defense team, attorney Yerem Sargsyan.

He also emphasized that it is necessary to note that the house arrest envisaged by the new Code of Criminal Procedure is substantially less severe than detention; however, the court has applied the extreme precautionary measure of detention in all four cases.

The defense team has also addressed the statement made by the Prime Minister of Armenia, emphasizing that it will inevitably constrain the law enforcement system in conducting an objective investigation. 'Those words indicate that even in being abroad, the Prime Minister is more than aware of the details of the case. Announcements are made at the highest level that 'predetermine' the outcome of the case, forcing the law enforcement system to examine it only in the direction stemming from already made reports and the prejudiced conclusions derived from them. No matter how much the Prime Minister claims he is 'not violating the presumption of innocence', his words are a direct violation of the presumption of innocence itself, as the head of state makes statements that cast doubt on the reasoning of the other side and predetermine the content of the judicial acts being decided. If we also consider this in the context of the statements made by the head of the State Revenue Committee, Rustam Badashyan, it becomes clear that we are dealing with a systematic campaign against businesses conducted by the state. All these factors affect the economic environment where the businesses do not have a real opportunity to prove their innocence within the legal processes while simultaneously managing to pay taxes and salaries,' states the announcement.

It is worth noting that systematic attempts to paralyze the operation of 'Nor Zovk' began on January 24, following incidents of hooligan attacks by private individuals that caused significant damage to the company. A report on these circumstances has been submitted to the police, and there are other significant circumstances that will soon be revealed by the company’s management and defense team.

It should be recalled that today, during a meeting with representatives of the Armenian community in Germany, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated: 'There has been a major revelation, it has been discovered that one supermarket has not paid taxes amounting to 4 billion drams. Yesterday, I was reading citizen comments under a report on this topic, and what are people commenting? 'They caught this supermarket to let the others do better.' No one says that this is reality; they say it was made up, 'Nor Zovk' is being closed so that 'Yerevan City' operates better. So be it, as you say, the public trial will show what is what. For us, it does not matter; everyone must pay their taxes,' said the Prime Minister of Armenia.