‘Can you grab someone’s hands and spit in their face without punishment?’ Ioannisyan considers the Prosecutor’s Office decision political

The Prosecutor General's Office has justified its decision to leave unexamined the incident that occurred a month ago between the Speaker of the National Assembly and a Canadian-Armenian representative, claiming that it was guided by a ruling made by the Supreme Court 11 years ago.

According to this ruling, an act cannot be considered hooliganism if the offender's actions are prompted by the victim's illegal and immoral behavior and are directed against him, rather than against society. In other words, the disrespectful remark that insulted the honor and dignity of Alen Simonyan was initially made by Karen Mkrtchyan, who was subsequently followed by the alleged developments, as reported by the Prosecutor's Office.

“If the Prosecutor's Office claims that this is normal, and essentially that is what they are saying, then we are living in a very sad country, where very sad developments can occur in the sense that spitting might become a normal phenomenon,” said Daniel Ioannisyan, the head of the NGO “Alliance of Informed Citizens,” in an interview with “Liberty.”

Canadian citizen Karen Mkrtchyan had called Alen Simonyan a “traitor” in early April after seeing him in Cascade. According to the expatriate, the Speaker's bodyguards grabbed his hands, and Simonyan spat in his face. The parliament speaker did not directly confirm the spitting incident but apologized to the citizens of Armenia a few days after the scandal. He also denied that his bodyguards had grabbed the citizen’s hands.

After the incident, the “Alliance of Informed Citizens” filed a complaint with law enforcement. Ioannisyan, who has consistently insisted that Simonyan’s actions are hooliganism, is puzzled by the law enforcement's conclusion. “Can you grab someone’s hands and spit in their face without punishment?” asks Ioannisyan, insisting that the Prosecutor’s Office decision is political.

“They are clearly acting with political motivation, especially since this has been ongoing for over a month. It has already been more than a month since we filed the complaint, over a month since the incident, and, in fact, the delay also has political motives in our belief,” he added.