Mayor of Ejmiatsin Karen Grigoryan has resigned.
“I, Karen Grigoryan, am voluntarily resigning”, he said on Facebook.
Karen Grigoryan is the son of MP Manvel Grigoryan, the former general who was arrested by national security service agents on June 16.
Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan has called on both past and present officials to cooperate with the new government and to confess about their possible crimes.
“Regarless of the emotions which are caused by the footage of Manvel Grigoryan’s house search, legality will not have an alternative.
And I call on past, and why not present high ranking officials, to cooperate with the new government. Tell about your crimes and the crimes of your [friends], as long as you have the possibility,” he said on Facebook.
The Deputy PM did not specify what he meant by saying “as long as you have the possiblity”.
The attorney of arrested MP Manvel Grigoryan has said he will no longer represent the former general.
Grigoryan, Member of Parliament of the Republican Party faction, a former general and the chairman of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union, was arrested on June 16 by national security service agents in his hometown of Ejmiatsin. Grigoryan was arrested in suspicion of illegal possession of firearms.
The attorney, Hrant Ananyan, says he will no longer represent Grigoryan because other circumstances existed in the case which he was unaware about. Ananyan was referring to the footage released by the NSS showing the discoveries in the MP’s home. “Even the investigative body hadn’t pressed such charges and hadn’t provided documents initially”, he said.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov has commented on the discoveries by national security service (NSS) agents in the compound of lawmaker Manvel Grigoryan.
Speaking to reporters in the parliament, Sharmazanov said he got deeply angered after watching the footage released by the NSS.
“If what the NSS has presented turns out to be true, there is no justification for it, regardless of who it did, be it me or my son. No one should interfere in the actions of the law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies must have the chance for a complete investigation as required by law,” he said.
“Generally there is no justification for stealing from the state budget, but from a soldier…..I don’t want to speak more,” he added.
Asked about the possibility of stripping the MP of immunity, Sharmazanov said the prosecution hasn’t filed a motion yet. “There is no such document in the parliament as of this moment”, he said.
Sharmazanov, who is the spokesperson of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), said soon his arty will deliver a statement about the case. MP Manvel Grigoryan is not a member of the HHK party, but nevertheless he is a lawmaker from the HHK faction.
He said he will suffer a “personal disappointment” if Grigoryan is proven to be guilty.
Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan says the Azerbaijani media reports on capturing 11,000 hectares of land in the Nakhivejan section are disinformation.
He urged to solely rely on the official information of the defense ministry of Armenia.
“The latest conversation that we had with our colleagues from the defense ministry was half an hour ago, Azerbaijani media reported about the 11,000 hectares yesterday evening and today in the morning that serious battles are underway, an attack is being planned. This all is false, I am asking to rely only on the official information of our defense ministry, which hasn’t given any reason for doubt during these years,” he said.
He said that diplomats of Armenia are notifying the international community about Azerbaijan’s military build-up at the Armenian border and the Artsakh line of contact.
Speaking about the fact that Azerbaijan is carrying out these actions during the regional visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Balayan said: “Our approaches are public, we gave a special commentary regarding the killing of a soldier in Artsakh a day ahead of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ visit. A provocation, which resulted in the death of a defense army soldier, this once again shows Azerbaijan’s contemptuous treatment to its commitments and first of all towards the Co-Chairing countries and the institution of Co-Chairmanship.”
Two days after the arrest of Member of Parliament Manvel Grigoryan in suspicion of illegal acquisition and possession of firearms, the Prosecutor General’s office has filed a motion on stripping the lawmaker of immunity, the Prosecutor General’s office said.
On June 17, Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan transferred the investigation from the national security service to the special investigations service. He also tasked to form a task force from detectives of both services.
The Prosecutor General’s office said the investigation has revealed sufficient evidence implicating Manvel Grigoryan.
Thus, the Prosecutor General applied to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to request the parliament on behalf of the government to convene an extraordinary sitting to debate the motion.
The parliament of Bulgaria ratified the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on June 13th, the Bulgarian Embassy in Yerevan said on Facebook.
“Thus, the currently presiding over the EU Council Bulgaria, has become one of the first EU member-states to approve the agreement. We look forward to working with our Armenian partners on its implementation”, the embassy said on Facebook.
CEPA was signed in late 2017 in Brussles. The document has since been ratified by the parliaments of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The Armenian parliament ratified it on April 11, 2018.
On June 7, 2018, Poland’s Sejm – the lower house of parliament, also ratified the agreement.
The Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) has issued a statement about the footage released by the national security service concerning arrested MP Manvel Grigoryan and the charges against the lawmaker.
HHK said it was “deeply saddened and angered” by the video which was presented by the NSS, showing the discoveries at the lawmaker’s compound.
“It is hard to believe that this is true. We are stunned and angered that something like this is possible by anyone in our reality, moreover by a general who actively took part in the Artsakh War. This is unacceptable and despicable,” HHK said.
Citing the presumption of innocence, the HHK said that if Manvel Grigoryan is found guilty he must be held accountable “under the entire strictness of the law”, regardless of his position.
“Anyone breaching the law, regardless of past or present official positions, party affiliation, must be held to account before the law,” the statement said.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Arpine Hovhannisyan (HHK) claims she will vote in favor of stripping arrested MP Manvel Grigoryan of immunity.
“Although the voting is secret, I can say that I will vote in favor for stripping of immunity. I think it is right in order to enable a complete, objective and comprehensive investigation,” she said.
She stressed that this is her personal decision, while the HHK faction is yet to express a stance.