GOVERNOR QUESTIONED OVER ASSAULT CLAIMS
Irina Hovhannisyan
Armenia – Surik Khachatrian, governor of Syunik province.18.11.2011
Surik Khachatrian, the controversial governor of Armenia’s southeastern
Syunik region, has been questioned by law-enforcement authorities
over allegations that he assaulted a businesswoman after she accused
him of business-related fraud, it emerged on Friday.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am), a law-enforcement
source gave no details of the interrogation. The source said the
Special Investigative Service (SIS) has still not decided whether to
prosecute Khachatrian.
The businesswoman, Silva Hambardzumian, claims that Khachatrian
hit her in the head in a Yerevan hotel lobby late on Monday just
days after she voiced her fraud allegations. Hambardzumian, who has
business interests in Syunik, said last week that a mining company
owned by the governor misappropriated mining equipment worth more
than 100 million drams ($263,000) from another firm belonging to her.
Khachatrian, who is notorious for reportedly violent conduct,
denied assaulting the entrepreneur on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the SIS
decided to open a criminal case after receiving a formal complaint
from Hambardzumian. The law-enforcement body subordinate to state
prosecutors is also conducting a separate inquiry into her fraud
claims.
Hambardzumian was again questioned by SIS investigators on Friday. She
told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that she insisted on her version
of events.
Hambardzumian also said that the chief of the national police,
Vladimir Gasparian, has agreed to provide her with police bodyguards.
“They have already allowed that,” she said. “My lawyer needs to go
there and sign something.”
Hambardzumian asked for police protection shortly after the allegedly
violent incident, saying that she fears for her security.
The assault allegations led to renewed calls for Khachatrian’s
sacking. The Syunik governor has for years been accused by media
of attacking local business rivals as well as government critics,
including a Syunik newspaper editor whose car was set on fire in 2005.
Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian said on Wednesday that the government’s
reaction to the latest scandal will depend on the outcome of the
SIS inquiry. “Any government statement made now could be regarded
as interference in its course,” he told journalists. “The government
will closely watch the investigation without any interference.”