Anti-Corruption Committee Rejects Motion to Halt Criminal Prosecution Against Ara Babloyan

The Anti-Corruption Committee's investigator has rejected the motion submitted by the defense to halt the criminal prosecution against former National Assembly President Ara Babloyan. This information was conveyed to the media by Babloyan's attorney, Aram Vardevanyan.

According to Vardevanyan, after the modification of Babloyan's charges, the Anti-Corruption Committee allotted just one day for the familiarization with the materials, during which the defense presented the motion to cease the criminal prosecution. "Traditionally, I received the response in a matter of hours, and I will also file a complaint with the supervising prosecutor," he stated.

Vardevanyan pointed out that after the new charges, no additional investigative actions have been carried out. "Imagine, an investigation is conducted for 4 months under Article 300, and then, without any new complex investigative actions, the act is simply reclassified under Article 308. In any case, the preliminary investigation has factually disproven and confirmed that the former chairman of the National Assembly did not misappropriate the powers of the Constitutional Court, and other aspects of this case will similarly be disproven," the attorney noted.

It is noteworthy that on February 24, based on the directive of the senior prosecutor, the charges against Ara Babloyan and Arsen Babayan were reclassified. Instead of having assumed the powers of the Constitutional Court, Babloyan was charged with abuse of official powers, while Babayan was charged with aiding in the assumption of the powers of the Constitutional Court and also for abuse of official powers. They are also accused of official forgery.