Will Armen Ashotyan Be Arrested? - 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper reports: 'We have learned from law enforcement sources that it is possible that in the coming days, the deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, Armen Ashotyan, may be arrested within the framework of a well-known criminal case. It should be noted that at the end of last year, the monumental efforts of law enforcement turned out to be in vain, as dozens of individuals related to the case were arrested in an attempt to extract testimony against Ashotyan, but to no avail. Now the process has intensified, with individuals who had previously made deals with the Yerevan State Medical University being taken in for questioning, as authorities try to establish a connection between them and Ashotyan. This concerns a criminal case initiated in 2015 over a large-scale theft from the Medical University, which previously led to the arrest and subsequent release of the university's former rector, Mikayel Narimanyan, who is over 70 years old.

Our sources indicate that Ashotyan has once again come under scrutiny for political reasons. Based on this criminal case, Ashotyan's travel privileges have been revoked; he is prohibited from leaving the country and can only do so with the permission of the investigator, who is not granting such requests. We have learned that Edmon Maroukian and Armen Ashotyan were invited to Austria recently for a closed discussion on the Artsakh issue, but Ashotyan was turned down, with Hayk Mamijanyan sent in his place by the Republican Party.

The authorities may likely have concerns that the firm stance of the Armenian opposition could drive the Azerbaijani delegation into a frenzy in these discussions, especially against the backdrop of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s 'peaceful' approach.' For more details, see today’s edition of the newspaper.