ArmInfo.I affirm and believe that in Armenia it is unacceptable when the court chooses arrest as a preventive measure against any mother of a minor child, in cases where there is an alternative. Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan expressed a similar opinion to journalists during a briefing on February 27, commenting on the corruption scandal in the Ministry of Economy, one of the defendants in which is his brother's wife, Ani Gevorgyan.
He recalled that the Civil Contract party submitted a petition to the court regarding three persons to change the preventive measure. "We did not interfere in the matter - whether it is fair or not, true or not, who is guilty, who is not guilty: We only addressed the issue of choosing a preventive measure. "I don't know what kind of case it would take to take such a harsh measure against the mother of a minor child," Simonyan said.
The head of the National Assembly noted that in Armenia the legislation works for everyone, and if a person is guilty, regardless of his family affiliation with certain government officials, he must be punished accordingly. However, in the case of his daughter-in-law, Simonyan expressed confidence that she is innocent. "This is impossible. When I became acquainted with the process, my belief was confirmed," he said.
At the same time, he ruled out any connection between the corruption scandal and the deterioration of his relations with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. "Our relations with the Prime Minister are built on institutional and friendly foundations. To say this means not to know about our relations," he emphasized.
Ani Gevorgyan is included in the criminal case initiated in connection with the case of fraud in the RA Ministry of Economy. The defendants in this case are: director of the Synergy company Ashot Hovhannisyan, a former employee of the company, the wife of the brother of the Speaker of the National Assembly Ani Gevorgyan, another employee of the company, the head of the department of public investment policy of the Ministry of Economy Lily Sirakanyan, as well as the head of the department of implementation of agricultural programs Taron Martirosyan.