Six opposition candidates arrested in Armenia: details
7 June 18:10
Armenia’s Investigative Committee announced the arrest of six parliamentary candidates from the opposition alliance “Strong Armenia”—they are accused of complicity in obstructing the free expression of citizens’ will and money laundering on a particularly large scale, reports "Komersant Ukrainian" citing DW.
Artur Abramyan, Ashot Sahakyan, Suzan Badoyan, Vage Yeghiazaryan, Hayk Avagyan, and Vage Tavakalyan have been taken into custody. The Prosecutor General’s Office had previously submitted a request to the Central Election Commission to initiate criminal proceedings and received approval for the arrests.
Refusal to remove from the election
On June 6, Armenia’s Central Election Commission refused to remove “Strong Armenia” from the parliamentary elections. CEC Chairman Vahagn Ovakimyan stated that there were no grounds for revoking the registration—neither court decisions nor other legal grounds—and that the demand by the pro-European “Republic” party was based solely on assumptions.
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At the same time, the Investigative Committee opened a case against Narek Karapetyan, the top candidate on the “Strong Armenia” list in the Yerevan City Council elections—he is suspected of concealing his Russian citizenship during his registration as a candidate. The day after this information emerged, details of his citizenship disappeared from Russian state registries.
The Kremlin and the Elections in Armenia
According to an investigation by The Insider on May 19, the Department for Strategic Partnership and Cooperation, led by Vadim Titov, is responsible for coordinating Armenian affairs within the Russian presidential administration. Representatives of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), and the Federal Security Service (FSB) are active in Yerevan, and supporting pro-Russian political forces ahead of the elections is one of Moscow’s key projects.
The “Strong Armenia” bloc, created by Samvel Karapetyan, owner of the “Tashir” group, is viewed by the Kremlin as a tool to counter Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has set a course toward rapprochement with the European Union and the United States. According to The Insider, Karapetyan planned to run for prime minister if the bloc succeeded in the elections.
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