Chief Prosecutor Set to Request the Detention of Three MPs

The newspaper 'Zhoghovurd' reports that the newly appointed Chief Prosecutor of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, will soon enter the parliament with a request to charge and detain three MPs.

The individuals in question are Seyran Ohanyan, the head of the 'Hayastan' faction, as well as MPs Vahe Hakobyan and Armen Charchyan, whom the prosecutor intends to strip of their parliamentary immunity.

According to 'Zhoghovurd', the criminal cases against these MPs relate to different incidents. However, the specific criminal proceedings that the Chief Prosecutor plans to base her request on have not yet been clarified.

We attempted to obtain answers to these questions directly from Chief Prosecutor Anna Vardapetyan. The prosecutor's advisor, Lusine Martirosyan, stated: 'There is currently no request regarding these individuals in the Office of the Chief Prosecutor.'

It is noteworthy that there is a crucial nuance in the official response from the Chief Prosecutor's office: 'at the moment.' This implies that the request could be placed on Anna Vardapetyan's desk at any moment.

The matter is that Article 37, Part 1, Clause 9 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates: 'The supervising prosecutor shall, upon the suggestion of the supervising prosecutor, apply to the competent authority for permission to initiate criminal proceedings against persons enjoying immunity from criminal prosecution or to obtain consent for their detention.'

Thus, the supervising prosecutor over these opposition MPs could enter Anna Vardapetyan's office with a request for their detention and stripping of immunity. For the full article, refer to today's issue of 'Zhoghovurd.'