Armenian opposition leaders Kocharyan and Karapetyan sue state bodies

Former President Robert Kocharyan and Strong Armenia Alliance leader Narek Karapetyan have filed separate lawsuits against Armenian state institutions, as political and legal disputes continue following June’s parliamentary elections.

Kocharyan, who leads the Armenia Alliance, has sued the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), seeking to invalidate its decision to lift his parliamentary immunity in mid-June.

The lawsuit was filed on 19 June, two days after the CEC approved a request by prosecutors to initiate criminal proceedings against him. The case is scheduled to be heard by the Administrative Court on 24 June.

The court has also ruled that the Prosecutor General’s Office should be involved in the proceedings as a third party, citing provisions of Armenian law requiring the inclusion of people or bodies that would be directly affected by a judicial ruling.

Kocharyan is expected to face charges of abuse of official authority and money laundering in connection with a 2004 transaction. The criminal case surfaced after authorities prevented him from leaving Armenia earlier this month.

In an interview aired on 19 June, Kocharyan called the case ‘simply absurd’ and insisted that it was connected to his attempt to leave Armenia.

‘They rushed to fabricate a case in just two days, because three days earlier, in response to media inquiries, there were no criminal cases against me. Then, a day later, it turned out that such a case already existed’, Kocharyan said.

Kocharyan’s lawyers have argued that the statute of limitations on the new charges had expired, while Kocharyan has denied any wrongdoing.

Karapetyan sues the Investigative Committee

Strong Armenia Alliance’s Narek Karapetyan, the nephew of Russian–Armenina tycoon Samvel Karapetyan filed a lawsuit on 20 June against the Investigative Committee. He demands that it publicly retract allegations that Narek Karapetyan ‘concealed’ foreign citizenship while registering as a parliamentary candidate, which constitutes an obstacle to acquiring the status of a public official.

Narek Karapetyan, Samvel Karapetyan’s nephew. Screengrab from video.

The lawsuit concerns a statement published by the Investigative Committee on 20 May announcing the investigation. Karapetyan has denied the allegations.

In his lawsuit against the Investigative Committee, he is seeking a court order compelling it to dismiss its claims and apologise for ‘entirely defamatory, false, and unfounded’ information.

Karapetyan is also seeking symbolic compensation of ֏1 (less than $0.01), along with reimbursement of legal expenses, including court fees and attorney fees.

Allegations about his citizenship emerged shortly before the elections, when Armenian authorities announced they were investigating reports showing Russian official documents in which Narek Karapetyan was registered as a Russian citizen. Narek Karapetyan rejected the accusations then, insisting that he had never held any citizenship.

Shortly after the case, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin rejected claims that Karapetyan holds Russian citizenship. Following the publications, the Armenian media outlet Factor reported that the citizenship data for Karapetyan in the Russian state registry had been edited to show that he only held Armenian citizenship.

Constitutional Court to hear election challenges

The two legal disputes come as the Constitutional Court prepares to hear challenges to the results of the parliamentary elections.

According to the final results, the ruling Civil Contract party will hold 64 seats in parliament, while Strong Armenia secured 29 seats and the Armenia Alliance won 12. The opposition Prosperous Armenia party led by tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan has failed to pass the 4% threshold required to enter parliament, receiving only 3.9893% of the vote after a controversial decision of CEC.

A single hearing is scheduled for 26 June to consider appeals filed by seven political parties and alliances seeking to annul the election results over alleged violations or have a second round appointed.

In preliminary rulings, the Constitutional Court decided that Artak Zeynalyan and Vladimir Vardanyan should be recused from proceedings after finding that they ‘have a biased attitude toward a party to the proceedings, its representative, and other participants in the proceedings’.

The Constitutional Court has also decided to involve the ruling Civil Contract party in the case as a third party.