Either the Deputy Minister of Education should be held criminally liable, or Smbat Gogyan. Arayik Harutyunyan

The Minister of Education, Arayik Harutyunyan, made a post on his Facebook page, asking the law enforcement agencies to accept it as a report of a crime.

We present the full statement below:

“I would like to address the statement made by the Chairman of the National Higher Qualification Committee, Smbat Gogyan, in his interviews regarding the doctoral dissertation of the Acting Rector of the Armenian State University of Economics, which contains obvious translations and plagiarisms. However, according to Smbat Gogyan, the Acting Rector continues to hold his position, as he is essentially being sponsored by the Deputy Minister of Education, Grisha Tamrazyan.

In other words, this statement may apparently testify to possible illegal sponsorship, which could contain elements of a crime, particularly abuse of official powers, transition, or other similar criminal acts.

Therefore, I ask the law enforcement agencies to consider my statement as a report of a crime and to initiate appropriate processes to clarify both the actions of the person making the statement and, moreover, the alleged actions of the deputy minister.

Moreover, I believe that the law enforcement agencies should invite Smbat Gogyan, obtain an appropriate report or explanation regarding his statements, while simultaneously warning him about another offense under the criminal code—false accusation.

If it is determined that Grisha Tamrazyan has committed sponsorship, he should be held criminally liable; otherwise, Smbat Gogyan may be held responsible for false accusation. I believe that in a legal state, there can be no other solution than to resolve this situation through legal means.”