Lawyer: Lack of consistency in the actions of Armenian law  enforcement agencies indicates their interest in engaging in  anti-campaigning policies

ArmInfo.The lack of consistency in the actions of law enforcement agencies indicates their interest in engaging in anti-campaigning policies, as stated by  lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan  at a press conference on  May 15 titled "Corruption during the Pre-Election Period."

The lawyer clarified that the practice of mentioning the names of  political parties in law enforcement reports or using their emblems  in video footage poses a serious problem. He stated that such an  approach can only be justified in cases where the criminal case  involves the actions of an entire political team and it is necessary  to demonstrate which specific party is involved. "However, when it  comes to a specific incident for example, the illegal actions of one  of the campaign staff in a particular region such a presentation of  information already takes on the characteristics of an  anti-campaigning campaign," the lawyer explained.

Khudoyan emphasized that law enforcement agencies have the right to  inform the public within the scope of their authority; moreover, they  are obligated to do so for the purposes of crime prevention. "Warning  citizens that certain actions are criminal is consistent with the  logic of crime prevention. The problem arises when brief official  announcements are accompanied by edited videos that effectively  target the political forces participating in the elections. Because  such materials mention the names of parties and show footage that is  not directly related to the case. In this case, it is no longer a  matter of informing the public, but of using one's powers as part of  an anti-campaigning policy," the lawyer noted.  Khudoyan also drew  attention to another aspect of the Anti-Corruption Committee's  activities. According to him, the published recordings included  statements by an alleged member of the campaign headquarters, who,  when referring to people from the same field, used the term "rabble."  The lawyer emphasized that this expression has no legal significance,  meaning the Anti-Corruption Committee had no need to publish it, as  it is irrelevant to the case. Nevertheless, as Khudoyan noted, such  fragments are made public, after which they become part of the  political agenda for a certain period.

"A similar approach has previously been characteristic of other  agencies, particularly the Investigative Committee and the National  Security Service. At this stage, this tool is being actively used by  the Anti- Corruption Committee," the lawyer noted.

In this context, Khudoyan also touched on the situation surrounding  the "Armenia" bloc of Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan.  He noted that, as in previous cases, the individuals involved in the  case had not even been questioned at the time, while the crime report  had already been presented to the public as an established fact.  According to the lawyer, even if law enforcement agencies  occasionally remind us of the presumption of innocence, such  reservations are largely formal in nature, since it is the published  video and audio materials that make the main impression on the  public.

"I cannot disclose all the circumstances of the case for fear of  compromising the investigation, but according to my preliminary  information, this involves financial relationships between close  friends. For example, this could be a situation where one friend  lends money to another. After the announcement of this case was  released, the court imposed house arrest and administrative  supervision on the defendants.  However, that same day, the  information about alleged pressure being exerted on one of the  defendants was refuted," the lawyer said.

However, as Khudoyan noted, the public has not seen the same active  reporting of new developments in the case from the Anti-Corruption  Committee since then. "More often than not, subsequent information is  published much less prominently, whereas at the initial stage,  reporting on the case is more intensive. The lack of consistency in  the actions of law enforcement agencies indicates their interest in  participating in anti-campaigning policies," Khudoyan concluded. 

Recall, on May 14, the "Armenia" bloc of Armenia's second president,  Robert Kocharyan, confirmed reports that the Armenian Anti-Corruption  Committee had conducted searches at the political party's office in  Spitak. The bloc noted that the searches were not unexpected and  expressed the belief that this was an attempt to intimidate their  political party ahead of the parliamentary elections on June 7, 2026.   Furthermore, the bloc emphasized that what is happening is not a  legitimate process, but another cheap attempt to interfere with the  normal functioning of the political party's structures.