Don Quixote's Fight Against Windmills: Armen Gevorgyan on the Allegations Against Him

Armen Gevorgyan, a member of the National Assembly from the "Hayastan" faction and former Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, has made a statement regarding the conclusion of the investigation into his case, noting that law enforcement has failed to substantiate the allegations against him with specific criminal events.

“Today, a statement was released about the conclusion of the investigation of the criminal case initiated against me concerning the charges presented back in May 2021. This case, which is entirely politically motivated, has already been discussed. Nevertheless, they searched long and thoroughly, but still could not connect the allegations with specific criminal events, which are simply absent. As a result, they have conjectures, but without facts. Where facts exist, there is a lack of realistic explanations,” he stated.

Gevorgyan compared the seven-year fight against the assets of his family and his wife's relatives by law enforcement to Don Quixote's fight against windmills, saying, “In Don Quixote's struggle, there was a profound meaning; in the case of our law enforcement, it has merely become an embodiment of 'revolutionary justice,' which has no connection with either justice or the rule of law.”

He further pointed out, “It is neither fair nor moral to present the property that actually belongs to my wife’s relatives as my own, considering them as individuals without a past and biography. The Sahakyan family, represented by Telman and Valery, is a well-known business dynasty from the Soviet and modern periods of Armenia and Russia; they have been actively engaged in economic and entrepreneurial activities even when I was still in school.”

“It would be naive to think that the investigators and prosecutors in this fight have been guided by their ideals and dreams or were unaware of the aforementioned circumstances. I am sure that today’s Don Quixote would certainly tell Sancho: you must realize that you bear personal and deeply moral responsibility, even for your decisions 'accepted by others.' For now, that is all,” Gevorgyan concluded.

Earlier, it was reported that accusations were made against the former senior official of Armenia for the legalization of particularly large amounts of property acquired through criminal means under Article 190, Part 3, Points 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, adopted on April 18, 2003.