People Traveled from Vanadzor to Voskepar for Protest Participation for Money: Investigative Committee

A resident of Vanadzor city has been arrested for allegedly financially incentivizing fellow citizens to participate in a protest in Voskepar. The press service of the Investigative Committee of Armenia reports that charges have been filed against the 27-year-old individual.

It has been revealed that the young man targeted several socially disadvantaged citizens who utilized a charitable canteen, involving them in gatherings and protests taking place in Armenia. "On April 24, 2024, this individual transported seven persons, who had agreed to participate in the gatherings for a fee, to the Voskepar community in Tavush province using passenger vehicles and took care of their food expenses. Afterward, as per their agreement, these citizens joined the participants of the civil disobedience protest and engaged in actions to block the interstate highway until late in the evening, then returned to Vanadzor where they received the promised sums of 3000 Armenian drams," the Investigative Committee reports.

The Investigative Committee also noted that this individual again incentivized another group of beneficiaries from the charitable canteen to travel by bus to Republic Square in Yerevan to participate in a rally organized by the "Tavush for the Homeland" movement until late that evening. People received the promised 3000 drams from this individual on site and returned to Vanadzor using the same transportation.

A public criminal prosecution has been initiated against the 27-year-old resident of Vanadzor for obstructing or coercing the conduct of gatherings, or for materially incentivizing someone to refuse participation in a gathering. He has been arrested for the purpose of being presented to the court with a measure of restraint in the form of detention. The investigation is ongoing. Necessary measures are being taken to identify all involved parties, as well as the sources of funding.

As a result of investigative and procedural actions conducted by the officers of the Investigative Committee and extensive operational-search measures carried out by the employees of the National Security Service of Armenia, cases of material incentivization for participation in gatherings by a resident of Vanadzor have been uncovered. In this manner, a group of residents from Vanadzor facing social issues reported to the Vanadzor division of the National Security Service of Armenia that their fellow citizen, a 27-year-old young man, had involved them in the gatherings and protests occurring in the Republic of Armenia in 2024 by providing them with financial incentives.

In connection with this report, a criminal case has been initiated in the Lori regional investigative department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia under the second part of article 236 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.