ArmInfo. Edgar Ghazaryan, a member of the National Assembly from the Strong Armenia opposition faction, believes that the criminal case brought against him is connected to an attempt to restrict his political activities. He stated this in a conversation with journalists on October 1.
According to him, this is the most logical and reasonable explanation for what is happening. "It is connected to an attempt to restrict my political activities. After all, I am no exception today. If this were only happening to me, one might think that all of this was due to personal circumstances," the deputy noted.
He noted that the charges brought against him are related solely to the words he spoke. In this vein, Ghazaryan recalled that the leader of the Strong Armenia bloc Samvel Karapetyan spent seven months under arrest and remains under house arrest for the same reason – for uttering two words: "Our way." Kazaryan also recalled the case of theater figure, producer, and actor Vahram Sahakyan, who was also arrested a few days earlier, according to him, for a Facebook post he made a year and a half ago. "So, for those eighteen months, no one considered it a crime. But time passes, it's unclear what's happening, and suddenly someone gets arrested. And apparently, my active political activities don't sit well with some people. I think that's precisely why the current events are happening," the opposition figure added.
According to him, there are no witnesses, no victims, and no proven crime in this criminal case. "There is only the accused—Edgar Kazaryan," he noted.
Kazaryan also clarified that he is being charged under an article that, according to him, carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. "The Criminal Code has an article related to insult. It provides for a fine and short-term arrest. Meanwhile, I was charged with a completely unrelated article. By that logic, they could say I killed a person, and it doesn't matter that in reality no one died. What difference does it make? It's the same in this case: no one was hurt, there are no witnesses, but there is an accusation," he stated.
Kazaryan noted that if he is arrested, he will naturally be unable to continue his political activity with the same intensity as he currently does. However, according to him, the events have not diminished his will to fight; on the contrary, they have only strengthened it. He also emphasized that he disagrees with the charges and intends to appeal the decision. "Regardless of the penalty imposed, a guilty verdict is subject to appeal. In this case, there were gross violations of freedom of speech and human rights," Kazaryan concluded.
Earlier during the court hearing, the prosecutor demanded Edgar Kazaryan be sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison.
As a reminder, Kazaryan was charged in connection with publications that, according to the case materials, he posted between August 28 and October 9, 2024. These materials relate to the Constitutional Court's consideration of the constitutionality of the Regulations on the Joint Activities of the Commission on Delimitation of the State Border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, as decided by the Constitutional Court on September 26, 2024. Investigators believe the published materials contained information that discredited Constitutional Court judges and harmed their rights and legitimate interests. The case is being heard by Judge Satenik Andreasyan.
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