Seyran Ohanyan on Criminal Prosecution Against Him

The government is initiating another series of political persecutions instead of addressing security and the issues related to Artsakh, stated Seyran Ohanyan, the leader of the ‘Armenia’ faction, in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

It was reported that the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan, has submitted three requests to the Chairman of the National Assembly, Alen Simonian, for consent to initiate criminal proceedings against the former Minister of Defense and leader of the ‘Armenia’ faction, Seyran Ohanyan.

"For me, there can be no unexpected phenomena from these authorities; everything is predictable from them. I have no information, and I have not received any official notification from either the prosecutor's office or the Chairman of the National Assembly. On the other hand, it is unclear to me, because in interrogations related to the former and current activities of the Ministry of Defense, no one has said that I might be stripped of immunity," said Ohanyan.

Arzvik Minasyan, the secretary of the ‘Armenia’ faction, also stated that according to the law, if a request is submitted, it must be immediately conveyed to the parliament member. "At this moment, we can’t say anything. We will receive it, study it, and then we will provide our evaluations and actions," said Minasyan.

It should be noted that the request is accompanied by a draft resolution of the National Assembly regarding giving consent to initiate criminal proceedings against the parliament member. According to Article 96 of the Constitution of Armenia, criminal prosecution against a parliament member can only be initiated with the consent of the National Assembly.