Tevanyan: The decision to hold closed court proceedings in my case speaks of Pashinyan’s hybrid fears

Arminfo. In Armenia, detention on remand continues to remain an instrument of punishment and political persecution, as well as a tool for the physical isolation of political opponents. Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the “Mother Armenia” party, made this statement from the “Yerevan-Kentron” penitentiary institution.

The politician noted that this is what happens in all authoritarian and totalitarian countries, and Armenia is no exception. According to Tevanyan, citizen Nikol Pashinyan is afraid of a public examination of the case fabricated against him and of the fact of the political persecution of Aregnaz Manukyan במסגרת this case.

"The decision to hold a closed trial speaks of his hybrid fears.  If Nikol P. had substantiated facts and a proven accusation, rest assured, he would advocate an open trial in order to have the opportunity to stage public shows. But since none of this exists, he is taking the path of concealment and silence: they called it a "state secret" and switched to a closed format. The reality is that Goebbels-style lies have burst, but the charges remain. This hybrid case pursued predominantly domestic political goals until election day: preparations were being made to steal mandates and seize power. After June 7, this case acquired a foreign-policy and geopolitical dimension," the politician added.

He is convinced that by doing so Pashinyan is officially declaring Russia an enemy, while strategic and allied relations with it are being turned into hostile relations at the direction of outside forces, and Armenia is becoming a bargaining chip in geopolitical clashes—following a combined model of the Ukrainian and Moldovan scenarios.

"Ultimately, all this will lead to Armenia suffering the fate of Artsakh.  However, Nikol P. and, even more so, external forces are not interested in this. Nikol P. has been presented with demands, namely: the adoption of an Azerbaijani Constitution in Armenia; the transfer of the so-called "Zangezur Corridor" to the Turkic world; the termination of Armenia’s membership in the CSTO, EAEU and CIS, and the destruction of Armenia’s security architecture; the withdrawal of the Russian 102nd military base from Gyumri; the transfer of the railway to the Turkic world; territorial concessions according to the Azerbaijani scenario under the guise of delimitation and demarcation of the border; ensuring the denazification and demilitarization of Armenia; the closure of the nuclear power plant and the destruction of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church," Tevanyan believes.

The politician is convinced that the main beneficiaries of fulfilling these and other demands are Turkey and Azerbaijan—just as was the case with the treacherous surrender of Artsakh by Nikol Pashinyan.

"All forces and figures who oppose the implementation of the listed points and possess the potential to organize resistance are being illegally persecuted and imprisoned. The latest in this line was the political arrest of the 2nd President of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan," he continued.

"The distinctive feature of the case fabricated against me is that domestic political and geopolitical topics are directly reflected in the indictment.  Nikol P. openly states that the reason for the case is my opposition activities, support for the strategic nature of Armenian-Russian relations, support for normal, partnership relations with the West—the unwillingness to treat Russia with hostility and to link relations with the West according to such logic, opposition to serving the Turkish-Azerbaijani agenda, as well as opposition to turning Armenia into part of an anti-Iran coalition," Tevanyan said.

In conclusion, he emphasized that sooner or later everyone will be held individually accountable for what they have done or failed to do, since actions against the interests of the Republic of Armenia and Armenian citizens have no justification and are not subject to a statute of limitations.

It should be recalled that on May 21, Armenia’s Investigative Committee (IC) reported that a criminal case had been opened against Andranik Tevanyan on charges of "high treason and espionage." Tevanyan is accused of transferring information containing state secrets to a foreign state for $622,000. And on the night of May 24, by court decision, Tevanyan was remanded in custody for two months. Moreover, according to Tevanyan’s lawyer, Aram Orbelyan, there were no legal grounds at the time for placing his client under arrest.  It should be added that the opposition figure’s detention took place on the direct instructions of Armenia’s incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Tevanyan himself called the Investigative Committee’s allegations absurd, noting that he had resigned his parliamentary mandate back in 2023 and, consequently, that such claims by the Investigative Committee had no basis.  And on July 9, Aregnaz Manukyan, a member of the political council of the “Mother Armenia” party and a former member of the Armenian parliament, was detained and subsequently remanded in custody for two months. According to the Investigative Committee, within the framework of the proceedings against Aregnaz Manukyan, public criminal prosecution was initiated under Part 1 of Article 427 of the Criminal Code (disclosure of information containing state secrets).  The investigative actions were carried out במסגרת the criminal case on espionage and high treason, in which the leader of the “Mother Armenia” party, Andranik Tevanyan, had previously been arrested.  Manukyan is suspected of transferring to Tevanyan secret data concerning the Armed Forces of Armenia that had been presented at a closed parliamentary meeting.

On August 18, the investigation in the case was completed, and the materials were sent to court; however, both Tevanyan and Manukyan continue to remain in pretrial detention. On September 8, the court extended Tevanyan’s detention for another 3 months and Manukyan’s for one month.