ArmInfo.The National Security Service issued a statement regarding RA MP Naira Zohrabyan and the election campaign of Prosperous Armenia party in 2017.
According to the report, as part of the investigative measures, information was received that state officials, through the organized criminal mechanism, before and after the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan, scheduled for May 14, 2017, persuade about 100-120 thousand RA citizens with the right to vote, temporarily leave their places of registration and formally move to Yerevan in violation of the requirements established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and other legal acts, as well as using false documents. To this end, citizens were persuaded through the provision of material assistance or other illegal means. Further, having moved to Yerevan and registered in various administrative districts of the capital, which are not actually their temporary or permanent place of residence, the abovementioned persons were included in the voters list, and thus ensured the requisite amount of votes for the elections to the Council of Elders Yerevan. Immediately after the completion of the election, these persons were again transferred and registered in real places of their residence
In addition, evidence was obtained that members of the Prosperous Armenia Party founded on April 30, 2004, participating in parliamentary and local government elections held in different years in the Republic of Armenia in order to secure votes for their party, personally or through various intermediaries, they provided voters with money, property or any advantage as a bribe.
On June 15, 2020, a criminal case was opened in the investigation department of the National Security Council of the Republic of Armenia on the grounds of part 2 of article 308, clause 2, 4 and 5 of part 2 of article 149, part 2 of article 154.2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia; large-scale investigative and procedural actions and operational investigative measures are being taken. A preliminary investigation in the criminal case obtained irrefutable evidence that MP from the Prosperous Armenia Party, chairof the NA Standing Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs, Naira Zohrabyan, in 2018 during a conversation with like-minded people in connection with the election results, following the revolution in the Republic of Armenia in May, repeatedly voiced insulting remarks regarding thousands of citizens freely expressing their will, calling them rams, sectarians.
Moreover, it was also found out by the operational-search measures that Naira Zohrabyan, during conversations with the same like-minded people, repeatedly recognized the fact that the Prosperous Armenia party in the elections held in previous years was able to secure the required number of votes solely as a result of the distribution of bribes to RA citizens, stating the following: <... it turned out that without election bribes the PAP has no votes... we must face the truth: this is the reality>. From the conversations it also becomes clear that Zohrabyan and her associates acknowledge that as a result of the non-application of mechanisms for distributing bribes after the revolution, their party was no longer able to provide the required number of votes.
To recall, in the morning of June 14 searches were carried out in the house of Tsarukyan. Then he went to the NSS for questioning. By chance or not, the former Chairman of the Control Chamber Ishkhan Zakaryan, who was in close relations with Gagik Tsarukyan, was also summoned to the NSS. Tsarukyan called the developments political persecution, meanwhile, the NSS reported three criminal cases involving the politician. So, according to the investigation, the leadership and other members of the Prosperous Armenia party distributed hundreds of millions of drams of election bribes in 2017 in accordance with well- developed schemes, and this was done under the pretext of charity. In another case, Tsarukyan's companies were involved in the organization of the casino's illegal activities, resulting in damage to the state of $ 60 million. Another criminal case concerns a company associated with Tsarukyan, which illegally appropriated land, and the state suffered damage of 342 million drams (about 685 thousand dollars). Yesterday, after calling Tsarukyan for questioning, a number of his supporters took to the streets and made attempts to block the movement. In respect of 252 persons, administrative detention was applied.