Armenian MP proposes using `political persecution` in place of  `prosecution`

ArmInfo.  At an extraordinary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, discussions continue on the motions submitted by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan on the country's parliament's consent to the criminal prosecution of the leader of the  opposition faction "Armenia" Seyran Ohanyan and Artsvik Minasyan.

Earlier it was reported that Seyran Ohanyan, when he was the Minister  of Defense, is accused of illegally alienating a land plot in the  village of Drakhtik, part of the National Park "Sevan", on which he  built a mansion. Artsvik Minasyan, in turn, is accused of having  previously been the Minister of Nature Protection and of having  assisted these actions on the part of Ohanyan.

Speaking from the parliamentary rostrum on June 7, Tadevos Avetisyan,  a member of the National Assembly from the Armenia faction, proposed  replacing the expression "criminal prosecution" with "political  persecution." In this case, the parliamentarian believes, the  situation would be fair and would fully satisfy the content of the  charges brought. "This would also be an unprecedented phenomenon,  which has become the favorite word of the current government,"  Avetisyan emphasized. He pointed out that Artsvik Minasyan was guided  by the provisions that were imposed on him at the time. Moreover, the  opposition's current demands to present a legal act that would  prohibit the allocation of land on the basis of competitive  procedures have been met with silence. "But there is no such act that  would allow us to even bring charges in brackets. In this case, it  would be possible to consider the issue of former Minister Artsvik  Minasyan actually legitimizing the illegal construction, but none of  this exists," the oppositionist noted, adding that political  repressions in the country continue even against minors, as even the  RA Ombudsman has signaled. A child under 16 was kept hungry and cold  for 5 hours at a police station, suspected of participating in  rallies and marches.

To get out of the current situation, the deputy sarcastically  proposed amending the Constitution, giving the RA Prosecutor  General's Office more powers to conduct political persecution in  order to maintain power and continue repressions. As Avetisyan noted,  the country's Basic Law does not require any other innovations.