Lawyers: Avetik Chalabyan`s case forwarded to court

ArmInfo. The preliminary investigation into the criminal case against public and  political figure Avetik Chalabyan has been completed, and the case  has been forwarded to court, as noted in a statement issued by Avetik  Chalabyan's defense team.

The statement reports that the first court hearing in the case, which  will also examine the illegal preventive measure applied to Avetik  Chalabyan, will take place on August 21, 2026, at 2:00 PM at the  Shengavit residence of the Yerevan Court of First Instance of General  Jurisdiction (24/1 Arshakunyats Avenue, Yerevan) under the presidency  of Judge David Balayan. "Considering that, due to the transfer of the  case to court, the proceedings no longer fall under the pre-trial  investigation regime, the defense team considers it necessary to  present to the public the key circumstances of Avetik Chalabyan's  politically motivated prosecution," the statement continued.

The lawyers recalled that on June 23, 2026, a criminal case was  launched against Avetik Chalabyan under Article 43-210, Part 2,  Clauses 5 and 6 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. The  essence of the charge is that Avetik Chalabyan allegedly met with  employees of the Russian Embassy in Armenia in February 2026, during  which—by persuading and inciting them in exchange for ensuring the  victory of their preferred political force in the Armenian  parliamentary elections—he incited the latter to form a group that,  by prior agreement, would use its official and state powers and the  influence derived from them to obstruct the free exercise of the  electoral rights of citizens of the Republic of Armenia who had the  right to vote in the Armenian parliamentary elections held on June 7,  2026.

"According to the indictment, this was to be accomplished through the  owners of economic entities operating in this country, who were to  compel their employees to travel to  Armenia and vote for the 'Strong  Armenia' bloc. Avetik Chalabyan rejected the indictment, calling it  an 'absolute lie' and a fabricated political order," Chalabyan's  lawyers noted.

The defense stated that the recording underlying the charges against  Chalabyan does not contain the acts incriminated to their client.  Furthermore, none of the essential factual circumstances mentioned in  the indictment are supported by proper or even improperly obtained  evidence.

The lawyers also believe that the preventive measure chosen for  Avetik Chalabyan—imprisonment—does not serve to ensure the normal  course of the case and proper procedural behavior, but rather acts as  a punishment prohibited by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia  and international conventions.  "Imprisonment was chosen as a  preventive measure for Chalabyan on two grounds: obstruction of  procedural actions and the likelihood of committing a new crime. Over  a month and a half in custody, not a single procedural or evidentiary  action has been undertaken in the case that Avetik Chalabyan could  have obstructed," the lawyers stated. At the same time, it is  emphasized that the defense team will consistently use all domestic  and international legal instruments to recognize the unlawful actions  committed against Avetik Chalabyan, prove his innocence, secure the  prompt removal of the preventive detention, and restore his good  reputation.