Eduard Ghahakyan Appears for Questioning at the Anti-Corruption Committee

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that, according to its sources, Eduard Ghahakyan, a deputy from the My Step (QYP) faction, was summoned and questioned by the Anti-Corruption Committee as part of a criminal investigation initiated due to pressure from former head of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Haykuhi Harutyunyan. Additionally, former NSS director Mikael Hambartsumyan was also questioned in connection with the same criminal case.

"Zhoghovurd" previously reported that Haykuhi Harutyunyan was also questioned. Furthermore, both the former NSS director and Haykuhi Harutyunyan faced confrontation at the committee.

As is known, on December 6, a criminal case was opened regarding a statement made by Haykuhi Harutyunyan in the National Assembly, which referred to a case of pressure during her tenure. In response to a question from My Step faction deputy Hayk Konjoryan, Harutyunyan noted that she had received a call from the NSS concerning the moral assessment of a specific candidate.

"I apologize, but following your request, I am publishing information from the National Security Service... which indicated a negative assessment concerning the candidate to be voted on in the National Assembly... It resulted in a negative conclusion, which is also intolerable... It was presented as a national security issue, as the election of this candidate was to be secured. The last phrase may sound very sharp. I immediately informed about the call and tried to clarify whether anyone in the government was aware of this phenomenon, and I must thank that there was an immediate response on the matter... The next day, even Mr. Ghahakyan (referring to deputy Eduard Ghahakyan) visited another agency located in the same building, the Environmental Inspection Body, and also visited the committee, and with four members present (at that time, we were four members), I personally presented the incident to Mr. Ghahakyan. I also reproduce Mr. Ghahakyan's words, and I thank him as this is intolerable behavior from us and our political team, and such cases are unacceptable for us," she stated.

The Prosecutor General's Office has announced that a criminal case has been initiated at the Anti-Corruption Committee concerning the above incident, under the characteristics of Article 441, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code. This article establishes criminal liability for the abuse of powers or influence by public officials.