Armen Gevorgyan Manipulates to Create an Illusion of a Total Fear Atmosphere, Says Prosecutor General's Advisor

The advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Gor Abrahamyan, has addressed former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan's recent post on Facebook.

“Former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan has made a post on one of the social networks, which has also spread in our media landscape. Among several statements, Mr. Gevorgyan claimed that ‘the authorities are openly blackmailing community leaders and business representatives. New criminal cases are being initiated. Everyone is required to submit to the will of the authorities. This is called real democracy in action…’”

It is significant and evident that the experienced A. Gevorgyan makes such claims about ‘openly blackmailing community leaders and business representatives’ and potentially unlawfully initiating new criminal cases without citing a single specific case or evidence, attempting with manipulative effects to create the illusion of a total fear atmosphere.

We emphasize that criminal cases are initiated based on concrete instances of crimes, in accordance with specific legal grounds and reasons. The initiation of criminal proceedings is not a whim to be used for political or criminal purposes. If there are specific details regarding such phenomena, evidence that supports blackmailing individuals, the initiation of unlawful criminal cases, or even threats in this regard, it is everyone's duty, regardless of the circumstances of publicizing this information, to first address the law enforcement agencies through known legal procedures. And Mr. Gevorgyan is not restrained from providing any information he may possess (if he indeed possesses any) to the law enforcement authorities at this time.

Otherwise, such general statements and claims are nothing more than attempts to influence public sentiment for propaganda motives, and during the pre-election period, to sow feelings of vulnerability among voters.

Law enforcement agencies are bound by the legislative requirement of political restraint, and the violation of this requirement is itself a criminal manifestation. The Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia has clearly stated that it will approach all information regarding electoral apparent crimes during the upcoming elections with the utmost seriousness and great responsibility—ensuring the verification of their authenticity and the initiation of relevant legal and criminal procedure measures in each specific case, regardless of which polar side of the political sphere they pertain to or which public, official positions the involved persons may hold.

We again remind that a working group has been formed within the Prosecutor General's Office for this purpose, which is ready to react quickly to all specific alerts. Therefore, especially all subjects involved in the electoral processes and all individuals are urged to exhibit responsible behavior, to refrain from making any type of unfounded and unsubstantiated statements, and to resist the temptation to artificially escalate the already tense atmosphere,” wrote Abrahamyan.