Lawyer: Armenian court acquits Gyumri mayor of one of the charges brought against him

ArmInfo. The Yerevan Criminal Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction has acquitted Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan of charges of hooliganism committed under aggravating circumstances by a group of individuals. This was announced on his Facebook page by lawyer Aramayis Hayrapetyan.

The lawyer clarified that the acquittal applies to the charge brought under Article 297, Part 2, Clause 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. "The Yerevan Criminal Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction acquitted Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan of charges brought under Article 297, Part 2, Clause 1 of the Armenian Criminal Code (aggravated hooliganism committed by a group of persons)," Hayrapetyan wrote.

Vardan Ghukasyan was arrested on October 21, 2025, in connection with a bribery case, and on October 26, his lawyers announced a new case against Ghukasyan for "public calls to renounce Armenia's sovereignty" in connection with his statements about a union with Russia and Belarus. On November 21, it was announced that Vardan Ghukasyan had been charged with a third offense, under Article 297, Part 2 of the Criminal Code. 297 of the country's Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of persons using information or communication technologies - the maximum penalty is up to 5 years in prison). On January 1, 2026, lawyer Zaruhi Postanjyan published a notice from the investigator, which stated that the prosecution initiated against Gyumri Mayor Vardan for calling for the renunciation of sovereignty was unfounded. According to the notice, the absence of corpus delicti in Ghukasyan's actions was established, therefore the criminal proceedings are subject to termination. This summer, two more charges were brought against him. One of them concerns the "usurpation of power." By a decision of July 17, the Armenian court transferred Ghukasyan to house arrest.