ArmInfo. Russia, as a sovereign country, will decide whether to satisfy Mihran Poghosyan's request for political asylum or not. Armenian Minister of Justice Artak Zeynalian said this at a press conference on April 29, answering the question of how he regards the fact that the former head of the Council requested political asylum in Russia.
He noted that Mihran Poghosyan has the right to ask for political asylum, another question is how patriotic and moral is his act. "In addition, as you know, there is a common view that these actions of Poghosyan are defensive tactics and are carried out in order to prolong the time. Nevertheless this is his right," said Zeynalyan.
To note, 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. He was arrested for 40 days, after which he asked for political asylum in Russia.