What Happened in Armavir Prison: $8,000 Bribe to Release an Inmate

It has been revealed to Armluram that Ashot Davit Muradyan has been charged with assisting a representative of the judicial authority, who holds an official position, in using his authoritative powers to demand a large bribe from Benjamin Ashoti Asatryan, an inmate, in exchange for replacing his detention with an alternative measure in the ongoing criminal case No. ЕД1/0350/01/24 at the first instance court of the Armavir region.

According to the investigative body, Benjamin Asatryan is accused of committing serious and particularly serious crimes under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, and he was remanded in custody as a preventive measure. In January 2025, for the purpose of discussing the replacement of detention with house arrest for Benjamin Asatryan, Ashot Muradyan met with the representative of the judicial authority on an unspecified date. He used his official and service powers to facilitate an illegal action in favor of Asatryan, demanding a bribe equivalent to 10,000 USD, which is equal to 3,989,700 AMD. Following negotiations, a final agreement was reached on a bribe amounting to 8,000 USD, equivalent to 3,191,760 AMD.

Ashot Muradyan, taking on the role of facilitator in receiving a large bribe, transferred the bribe demand of 8,000 USD, equivalent to 3,191,760 AMD, from the judicial authority representative to the bribe payer in January 2025, thereby eliminating potential exposure should the judicial authority representative come into direct contact with the payer for this purpose.

Subsequently, on May 19, 2025, the detention measure applied to Benjamin Asatryan was replaced with house arrest. The criminal case has been sent to court.