Thursday, April 25 2019 14:22

ArmInfo. After the victory of the velvet revolution, political persecution in Armenia ceased. This 

opinion was expressed at the briefing by MP from the Prosperous  Armenia Party Mikayel Melkumyan, referring to the fact that former MP  from the Republican Party, former head of the Compulsory Enforcement  Service of Judicial Acts, Mihran Poghosyan, who accused of abusing  his official position, embezzlement and money laundering, asked  political asylum in Russia.

"Everyone is free to do what he thinks is necessary. But this is a  right question, I don't think that political persecution is being  carried out against Mihran Poghosyan," the MP stressed.

In turn,  MP from the faction of the "My Step" bloc, head of the  parliamentary commission for economic issues Babken Tunyan stated  that as a citizen of Armenia, this whole situation is not pleasant  for him. "It is very unpleasant and undesirable when a former  high-ranking official, the general asks for political asylum.  I am  almost sure that Russia will not bargain with us on this issue.  Although this is more of a legal issue and I am not an expert in this  field", Tunyan noted.

Head of the "Bright Armenia" party, Edmon Marukyan, noted that Mihran  Poghosyan should be under investigation for a year now, but due to  the fact that the preliminary investigation authorities have delayed  this situation, he is now in Russia. He quipped and said that the  Armenian reality today resembles a Latin American TV series.  "Gonzalez (meaning the nephew of the third president of Armenia,  Serzh Sargsyan, Narek Sargsyan - Ed. note) is in Prague, Rodrigues in  Russia, and Jose Ignacio has long been in Mexico.  Our preliminary  investigation bodies are to blame for everything; this attitude is  inadmissible. I very much hope that Russia, proceeding from our  friendly relations, will not grant him political asylum. Otherwise,  what can I say? We will not be able to carry out criminal prosecution  against him, "concluded Marukyan.  To note, the former head of  Compulsory Enforcement Service, Mihran Poghosyan, asked for political  asylum in Russia.

To recall, earlier the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia handed  over a package of documents to the Russian side for the extradition  of a former high-ranking official. On April 13, Mihran Poghosyan was  summoned by the Special Investigation Service of Armenia as a  defendant in a criminal case initiated under "Assignment or waste in  especially large amounts" and "Abuse of office, resulting in serious  consequences due to negligence".  Later, Poghosyan was put on the  national and international wanted list and was detained on April 19  in Petrozavodsk.