The hunt for exes: why the Armenian authorities are destroying the opposition
Repressions against opponents of the current authorities have intensified in Armenia. One former president, Robert Kocharyan— ended up behind bars, and the court arrested him for two months. The other, Serzh Sargsyan, was given a written undertaking not to leave. In parallel, the trial of the primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) Garegin II is scheduled to begin on August 28. Izvestia investigated the situation.
What happened
At the end of August, the Armenian authorities attacked the opposition leaders with renewed vigor. Former President Robert Kocharyan was first detained and then arrested by a court for two months. The politician is accused of a number of crimes that he allegedly committed in 1998-2008, when he held the main post in the country.
In particular, he is charged with abuse of office, receiving large bribes and money laundering. According to the investigation, Kocharyan and those close to him bought up plots of land at low prices and without holding public auctions, and then reissued them to relatives.
It is claimed that these are land plots with a total value of over 4 billion Armenian drams ($10 million). Later, an entertainment center, a premium fitness club and other facilities were built on them. Law enforcement officers are also checking transfers to Kocharyan's son in the amounts of 144 billion drams ($360 million), $309 million, €77 million and 18 million rubles.
Robert Kocharyan
The lawyers emphasize that we are talking about events 20 years ago, and the security forces had no questions until this summer. Kocharyan's lawyer Aram Orbelian also noted that his client recently underwent heart surgery, after which he requires medical supervision — he is still at risk for about a month.
At the same time, it must be said that the clouds over Kocharyan have been gathering throughout the summer. In June, he was initially prevented from leaving the country, and then his parliamentary immunity was revoked. Just before his arrest, Levon, the son of the former president, got into an altercation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a parliamentary session.
The MP called the head of government a traitor who ruined the Armenian Artsakh (Karabakh). "Why are you a millionaire? How did your family become a millionaire?"— Pashinyan replied, promising to return all the "illegally acquired" assets to the state. The opposition now says that it was after this that the authorities decided to detain the former president.
What is important to know
At the same time, another former president, Serzh Sargsyan, was signed not to leave. He is being charged in the same case as Kocharyan on money laundering, bribery and abuse of office.
Serzh Sargsyan
In general, all major opposition forces have experienced problems in recent months. The leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, Gagik Tsarukyan, turned out to be involved in a criminal case because he allegedly set up a fraudulent scheme involving Iranian citizens. In July, he was arrested for two months, and a number of his companies became state-owned.
The Strong Armenia bloc, which took second place in the parliamentary elections in June, was also defeated. The founder of the association, Samvel Karapetyan, has been under house arrest since last year, and in July the court extended this measure of restraint. At the same time, the leader of the faction, Narek Karapetyan, was stripped of his immunity and ordered not to leave.
In addition, in June, a criminal case was opened against Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the Haykve opposition platform. On August 21, he was released from custody, but the proceedings were not closed. Since May, the leader of the Mother Armenia association, Andranik Tevanyan, has been in jail, and the head of the Dashnaktsutyun party, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, has also been hit.
In addition, the country's authorities continue their struggle with the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Government of the Republic has adopted an action program for the next five years. "Efforts will be made to remove the de facto head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, elect a locum tenens in accordance with the established procedure, adopt the statute of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and elect a new Catholicos of All Armenians," the document says.
The first court hearing against the current head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Garegin II, and six bishops is scheduled to take place on August 28. All of them are accused of having defrocked and removed Archbishop Gevorg Saroyan from the leadership of the diocese in February, who was reinstated through the court, but the church did not comply with the verdict of the court.
Human rights activists emphasize that the principle of separation of powers and freedom of religion is grossly violated in this case. It is noted that the leadership of the AAC is accused of acts that a secular court should not consider. At the same time, Garegin II has already been banned from leaving the country, and as a result of this trial, he faces up to two years in prison.
At the same time, experts are wondering what the reason is for the authorities' large-scale attack on opponents. According to one of the assumptions, Nikol Pashinyan cannot accept the weak result of the ruling party in the parliamentary elections. At that time, the association under his control received 49.7% of the vote, which is not enough to independently amend the Constitution.
According to another version, the authorities are preparing to make unpopular decisions. To avoid large-scale protests, the opposition field is being cleared. This could include, in particular, the transfer of certain territories under the control of Azerbaijan or an even greater deterioration of relations with Russia.
What the experts say
Nikolai Silaev, a leading researcher at the MGIMO Center for Caucasus and Regional Security Problems, explains that the Armenian authorities are facing serious challenges.
— Pashinyan's policy and the discord between the EU and the EAEU have led to a deterioration in relations with Russia. Moscow has imposed a number of restrictions of its own, as a result, the Armenian economy, tied to export and transit trade, suffers. We have already seen the farmers' performances, and it hasn't been long yet. An additional factor is that the ruling party did not perform very confidently in the parliamentary elections," he notes.
The expert adds that in such circumstances, the ruling team is trying to solve two problems by harassing the opposition.
— On the one hand, Pashinyan believes that he is putting pressure on Moscow in this way. Allegedly persecuted politicians are very important to Russia, which will want to stand up for them, which will become a bargaining chip. On the other hand, pressure is exerted on opponents by itself. It is obvious that difficult times await the ruling party, and protests may grow. To prevent this from happening, it was decided to persecute the opposition in advance," he believes.
Armenian political scientist Tigran Kocharyan draws attention to the growing bitterness of the authorities and security forces in the republic. According to him, they began to arrest not only the oppositionists themselves, but also their family members. For example, together with Robert Kocharyan, his eldest son was behind bars, the youngest is also under threat, although he is still protected by parliamentary immunity.
— What is the reason for all this? Pashinyan is transforming Armenia's foreign policy. He is moving towards a complete severance of relations with Russia and the fulfillment of the European and Turkish agendas. It is clear that representatives of the opposition can become a serious obstacle here. In addition, there is, apparently, a calculation that Moscow will take care of the fate of protest politicians, it will be possible to blackmail them with their situation," he emphasizes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
