Artsakh residents deprived of voting rights summoned for questioning  on suspicion of accepting bribe from Strong Armenia party

ArmInfo.  Artsakh residents deprived of voting rights have been summoned to the Investigative Committee of Armenia (IC) for questioning on suspicion of accepting a bribe from Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia" party. Artsakh lawyer Roman  Yeritsyan announced this live on his Facebook page.

In this regard, he recalled that members of the "Po-Nashemu" movement  office once helped Artsakh residents by providing free legal  assistance in obtaining Armenian citizenship. "The office had  employees, and accordingly, they received a salary for this. And  among the employees were Artsakh residents," the lawyer explained.

According to him, they were summoned to the investigator in  connection with the initiation of a criminal case under Article 210  of the Criminal Code of Armenia. As the lawyer recalled, these are  crimes related to bribery. "The investigator asked the Artsakh  residents summoned for questioning how they received this money-as a  salary or for a promise to vote for the Strong Armenia party in the  parliamentary elections.  We are talking about people who worked in  the office of the "Po-Nashemu" movement before the ban on charity and  the creation of the Strong Armenia party," Yeritsyan noted.

That is, as the lawyer emphasized, they received their salaries for  legal activities, which, incidentally, are encouraged by the Armenian  authorities. After all, as Yeritsyan pointed out, it is the Armenian  authorities who are calling on Artsakh residents to obtain  citizenship of the Republic of Armenia. "Moreover, these individuals  did not have and still do not have Armenian citizenship, therefore,  they cannot cast their vote for any person or party in the  parliamentary elections. What is happening is simply illogical. "They  essentially summoned people for questioning on suspicion of accepting  bribes who do not have the right to vote, even passively," the lawyer  complained.

On April 27, the Anti-Corruption Committee announced that Artur  Avanesyan (Kandaz), a legendary Artsakh intelligence officer, holder  of the Second Degree Combat Cross, and head of the Strong Armenia  security team, and several others had been detained in connection  with an election bribery case. According to the published report, the  case was initiated based on Avanesyan's wiretapped conversations. On  April 28, lawyer Aram Vardevanyan announced that Artur Avanesyan  (Kandaz) had been arrested for two months by decision of the  Anti-Corruption Court. As part of the same case, the lawyer later  reported, the Anti- Corruption Court of Armenia placed Artsakh  resident Gegham Zakaryan, whose family members are four members  deprived of the right to vote in Armenian elections, under house  arrest for two months for allegedly accepting an election bribe from  the Strong Armenia.party.