Preliminary Investigation Concludes in Incident Involving MP Hakob Aslanyan

The preliminary investigation into the incident involving MP Hakob Aslanyan, where he was insulted by a resident of Yerevan, S.V., has concluded at the Investigative Committee of Armenia’s Yerevan Heavy Crimes Division. The incident, which involved public disorder, breaches of coexistence rules, and obstruction of public transport, led to the initiation of a criminal case.

As a result of the investigative and procedural actions, several significant circumstances relating to the incident have been established. Specifically, evidence was obtained indicating that the aforementioned resident engaged in anti-social behavior on public transport, grossly violating social order by making insulting remarks towards the country's leadership and the Civil Contract Party, inciting hatred, discrimination, intolerance, and enmity.

On April 15, 2024, between 14:10 and 14:30, S.V. approached MP Hakob Aslanyan in bus number 42, recording him with a mobile phone to subsequently share the footage online. S.V. directed derogatory expressions at Aslanyan based on his political views, dismissing the pleas from other passengers to cease the argument and continuing the confrontation with those who challenged him.

Due to the situation, the bus driver was compelled to halt operations and demanded that the disputants exit the bus. The investigation also gathered factual data showing that back in April 2023, S.V., during a live broadcast on various internet platforms, recounted an encounter with MP Hakob Aslanyan, where he verbally assaulted him. S.V. had identified Aslanyan in the bus as a member of the Civil Contract Party, politically targeting him.

Considering that the information obtained during the proceedings evidently contains elements of a crime, a new criminal proceeding was initiated under point 3 of the second part of Article 329 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, which has been combined with the ongoing investigation into the hooliganism incident. Based on sufficient evidence, charges were brought against S.V. under the first part of Article 297 and point 3 of the second part of Article 329 of the Criminal Code. Preventive measures for S.V. have been set at house arrest, with a bail amounting to 7,000,000 AMD. The preliminary investigation has concluded, and the case materials have been forwarded to the supervising prosecutor.