Photos: Karen Sarukhanyan on Drug Testing Results

Karen Sarukhanyan, a member of the My Step Alliance, has published the results of a drug test conducted on his body. He shared a lengthy post on his Facebook page, which is presented below:

“Dear Fellow Countrymen, Respected Gyumritsians, I will try to briefly outline what has transpired regarding my persona during this time, and I am ready to answer any remaining questions publicly in any format.

In December 2023, when the Civil Contract Party terminated its memorandum with the 'Balasanyan Alliance' (I was opposed to this termination with my justifications), discussions started within our team regarding a possible mayoral candidate. As a result of internal discussions, there was no consensus on who the future mayoral candidate from the Civil Contract Party would be. Consequently, the party administration decided to establish a territorial organization of the CPP in Gyumri, and according to our approach, the president of the territorial organization would be considered the local team leader and would lead our electoral list.

The CPP Gyumri Territorial Organization was formed, and I was elected its president. Those ‘mayor-shippers’ who did not participate in the formation of the Gyumri Territorial Organization began a daily campaign against the legitimately formed TO and the President. After the resignations from the 'Balasanyan Alliance,' when a governance crisis arose in Gyumri and it became clear that we would go for snap elections, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan nominated and supported my candidacy for the upcoming local elections in Gyumri as the mayoral candidate, possibly as the acting mayor, and later leading the electoral list.

I accepted the Prime Minister’s offer, and there was an official announcement; the news outlets covered it as well. However, the same individuals who constantly claimed behind closed doors that they were CPP candidates, having certain patronage and personal connections with some people, continued their campaign against me, trying to smear my name and create an environment where my candidacy would be subject to change.

All this was done through a very clear, organized manner, with certain bloggers commissioned to write specifically crafted articles and fake pages posting comments alleging that I, Karen Sarukhanyan, am a drug addict. They attempted to substantiate this thesis by allegedly detaining my uncle's son and a friend, from whom drugs were supposedly found. What was found does not even constitute an administrative violation, but all this was necessary for the organizers to raise a public outcry around my persona.

Dear Gyumritsians, during this whole time, I was busy ensuring the smooth distribution of salaries to employees of the Gyumri municipality and the ongoing process of implementing the city’s communal work. Still, certain adventurers, utterly disregarding the governance crisis in the city, continued their dirty work aimed at discrediting the candidate proposed by the Prime Minister.

Dear Gyumritsians, I would like to inform you that during this entire campaign, I have publicly stated several times that I am ready to take any test to prove that I am not involved in such matters, and those who tarnish my name do so based on an immoral script designed to create an environment whereby the candidate is discredited, necessitating a change in the candidate.

I was born and raised in Gyumri, I have recognized and respected parents in the city, a large family, good friends, and relatives; all of them know me well, and those who know me can confirm that I have always been one of those condemning such scourges and continue to do so. Right at the point when the discussions about the Gyumri local elections and the candidates were at their peak, the detention of my relatives without any serious justification has been condemned by me during a meeting of the Civil Contract Party administration. When the suggestion arose of whether I was ready to take such a test, I unequivocally indicated that I was ready to take any test since I have nothing to hide.”

“Since false, reality-disconnected information has emerged from the management's closed meeting about me, I reserve the right to present the entire truth. Dear Gyumritsians, I attach the test results, which show data on 20 substances, of which 19 are absent from my system, while 1, the barbiturates, can be found in many individuals who occasionally use Corvalol or Valocardin for a good sleep or as a sedative, as they contain phenobarbital from the barbiturate series.”

“For example, let me state that when the police conduct drug tests, they check only 3 substances:
● Methamphetamine (crystal)
● Marijuana (plan, anasha, hashish, hashish oil)
● Opiates (black tar, heroin, morphine, codeine)

But one thing is clear; having a negative result for 19 substances and a positive for 1, with a clear justification, should not justify an inhumane act of discrediting me. The vile lie spread by certain opposition members, self-proclaimed ‘mayor-shippers' dressed as saints, and commissioned media outlets does not correspond to reality. Moreover, any laboratory cannot conduct such a test with this output; it requires a highly specialized approach, and I am sure that doctors will confirm this.

And if after this, there are still individuals who, for example, question the validity of my test results, asserting that they do not correspond to reality, I can provide them another sample of their choice at any time, so they can take it for testing. Let them check it well.
Peace to all, may God protect us all” – the statement concludes.