Strong Armenia alliance leader Samvel Karapetyan revealed on Monday that, in the event of winning the elections on June 7, his administration would enact a law banning Azerbaijani nationals from acquiring real estate in Armenia.
The legislation, he said, would be called the Safarov Prevention Act, in reference to Ramil Safarov, the convicted murderer of Armenian military officer Gurgen Margaryan. The latter was asleep in his dormitory room during a 2004 NATO training program in Hungary when Safarov broke into his room and killed him with an axe. Safarov was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison by a Hungarian court. However, in 2012, Hungary extradited him to Azerbaijan, where he was released upon arrival.
“We will adopt a law at the very first meeting of our Cabinet that prohibits Azerbaijanis from acquiring land and property or receiving them as donations within the territory of Armenia. We have named this law the ‘Safarov Prevention Act,’” Karapetyan, currently under house arrest amid an ongoing investigation into allegedly publicly calling for a coup, said during a meeting with representatives of the alliance.
The details of the initiative were presented by lawyer Aram Vardevanyan, who is second on the alliance’s electoral list, noting that the proposed legislative package concerns citizens of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani legal entities.
“We propose that any individual or legal entity holding Azerbaijani citizenship, including as a beneficial owner, and operating in the Republic of Armenia, should not be able to acquire any real estate in our country,” he emphasized.
Although the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia stipulates that “foreign citizens and stateless persons do not enjoy the right of ownership of land, except in cases prescribed by law,” Vardevanyan believes that a prohibition on acquiring real estate should also be explicitly enshrined in legislation.
Earlier this year, Strong Armenia named business magnate Samvel Karapetyan as its prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming general election, despite an apparent constitutional barrier.
Constitutional requirements for a prime minister in Armenia include having resided in the country for at least the previous four years and holding exclusively Armenian citizenship during that period. Karapetyan is reported to hold dual citizenship and has been based mostly abroad.
The party announced that if it wins the election, it would initiate legislative amendments, change the relevant law regarding the requirements, and elect Samvel Karapetyan.
His nephew Narek is the alliance’s lead candidate on the electoral list.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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