Individual Arrested for Assisting Vardan Ghukasian in Publishing Disparaging Information about Judge

An individual has been arrested for assisting Vardan Ghukasian, known as "Dog," in publishing disparaging information about a judge and his relatives. This was reported by the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia.

During an ongoing criminal investigation in the Serious Crimes Investigation Division of the Investigative Committee related to the leaders of the "Public Voice" party, it was revealed that Vardan Ghukasian had contributed to the publication of information that damages the judge and his close relatives, harming their rights and legal interests through the Telegram application.

Specifically, it was found that Andranik Armandaryan, who has close ties with Vardan Ghukasian, managed several online accounts on various social media platforms that promoted Ghukasian's activities, including the news website of the "Public Voice" party.

Following the decision by a judge of the Anti-Corruption Court on June 11, 2023, to extend the detention of an individual accused of extortion who has close relations with the presidents of the "Public Voice" party, Andranik Armandaryan obtained photographs of the judge and his close relatives, allegedly with the aim of influencing subsequent potentially unfavorable judicial acts against Vardan Ghukasian's associates.

On June 11, 2023, between 21:45 and 23:33, using appropriate software applications, he edited these photographs, adding obscene and defamatory captions relevant to the judge and his relatives. Furthermore, he subjected a photograph of the judge to inappropriate photo manipulation, adding defamatory notes about the judge's identity. Subsequently, he sent these manipulated images to Vardan Ghukasian.

The next day, Ghukasian publicly aired these manipulated and defamatory photographs during a live broadcast on Facebook, hurling sexual insults at the judge and his relatives.

Thus, through his technical skills in information technology, Andranik Armandaryan assisted Vardan Ghukasian in creating and disseminating defamatory information against the judge and his relatives. Based on the gathered evidence, a motion was submitted to the supervising prosecutor to initiate public criminal proceedings against Armandaryan, which was approved, leading to charges under Part 2 of Article 490 of the RA Criminal Code.

As a measure of restraint, detention was chosen for Andranik Armandaryan. The Investigative Committee of Armenia warns that any similar manifestations, threats against relevant officials, or any attempts to publish defamatory information about them, including actions aimed at facilitating such acts, will receive an appropriate legal assessment. We urge everyone to refrain from such criminal behavior.