Arush Arushanyan Will Not Be Imprisoned: Court Rejects Prosecutor's Appeal

The punishment for Goris Mayor Arush Arushanyan will not be replaced by imprisonment. The Court of Appeals for Anti-Corruption rejected the Prosecutor's appeal, leaving the decision of the first-instance court unchanged.

The Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Judge Tigran Davtyan, had rejected the request of the Probation Service, which sought to replace Arushanyan's punishment with imprisonment. Following this decision, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia filed an appeal with the Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals.

The question of changing Arush Arushanyan’s sentence has been under judicial review for more than two years. On March 28, 2022, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Syunik, presided over by Judge Gnel Gasparyan, acquitted Arushanyan on charges of electoral offenses but found him guilty on another count and sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment. Taking into account the eight months he had already spent under restraint, the court ultimately imposed a sentence of 6 months of imprisonment, which was not intended to be served conditionally. Arushanyan was also subjected to a 1.5-year probationary period, fined, and deprived of the right to hold local government positions for 5 years. The verdict was enacted after being appealed.

Subsequently, the Probation Service appealed to the Goris Council to suspend Arushanyan’s powers; however, the council rejected the request, noting that it did not fall within their jurisdiction. Following that, a report was drafted at the Regional Department of Probation in Syunik concerning avoidance of punishment, and a motion was submitted to replace the punishment of deprivation of the right to hold local government positions with imprisonment and to annul the decision of non-application of the sentence.

At the same time, Arush Arushanyan contested the legality of the actions of the Probation Service, but the court rejected his appeal. The appeal against this judicial act was also examined in written procedure and denied.

In 2024, the court replaced Arush Arushanyan’s punishment with imprisonment, and the Court of Appeals finally set the penalty at 1 year and 11 months of imprisonment. However, the Court of Cassation noted a violation of opposition rights and referred the case back to the Anti-Corruption Court. In the new review, the Anti-Corruption Court rejected the request of the Probation Service, and the Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals also denied the prosecutor's appeal. Consequently, Arushanyan's punishment will not be replaced by imprisonment.