Security forces came to search the office of the Mother Armenia party
Security forces are conducting searches in the office and apartment of Andranik Tevanyan, chairman of the Mother Armenia party and second on the Prosperous Armenia party list. Tevanyan has been charged with treason, which he has called fabricated.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced during the election campaign that the Ararat Cement plant, owned by the family of Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party, would be nationalized. The prosecutor's office subsequently announced a case related to violations during the privatization of the enterprise.
Armenian parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 7. Seventeen parties and two blocs have been admitted. Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc, Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc, and Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia Party are the most pro-Russian candidates in the upcoming elections. The Kremlin is backing Karapetyan, but he is legally ineligible to participate.
On the morning of May 22, National Security Service (NSS) officers arrived at the office of Mother Armenia bloc member Andranik Tevanyan after he was accused of disclosing information from a closed parliamentary session, ArmeniaToday reports.
A video from the home was published by Mother Armenia bloc representative Areknaz Manukyan.
The footage shows several law enforcement officers inside the premises. The bloc's representative stated that NSS officers had arrived to conduct an investigative action. She demanded to see documents confirming the start of the investigation and refused to stop filming until they were presented and a lawyer arrived. "I will not turn off my phone until you present the notice of the investigation. I will continue filming until my lawyer arrives," the newspaper quotes a translation of the video.
A search is also underway at the apartment of Andranik Tevanyan, chairman of the Mother Armenia party and second on the Prosperous Armenia party's electoral list, News.Am reports.
The actions against Tevanyan began a day after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the need to open a criminal case against him for "high treason." On May 21, the Investigative Committee announced the initiation of criminal proceedings against Tevanyan for "treason and espionage."
On May 20, during the election campaign, Nikol Pashinyan announced that the RA National Security Service would send a notice to the Investigative Committee against Andranik Tevanyan to initiate a criminal case for treason. Tevanyan responded by declaring that Pashinyan is the traitor and will be held accountable for his actions in the future.
Already on May 21, the Investigative Committee released a statement announcing that criminal proceedings had been initiated against Andranik Tevanyan for treason and espionage in connection with the possible publication of data from the 2024 closed parliamentary session. According to investigators, in exchange for a particularly large reward—$622,000—he provided information containing state secrets, translated into Russian, to a representative of foreign intelligence services.
Tevanyan called the charges against him absurd. He claimed the case against him was fabricated.
"On Nikol Pashinyan's illegal orders, a case was fabricated against me and charges were brought. "The Investigative Committee of Armenia just released a statement alleging that, while a member of the National Assembly, in April 2024 I transmitted information about the progress and results of closed hearings, obtained from closed sources, translated into Russian, and committed acts against Armenia's external security," Aysor.Am quoted him as saying on May 21. Tevanyan emphasized that the accusations are untrue, as he resigned his parliamentary mandate in 2023 and could not have participated in closed parliamentary hearings in 2024. Therefore, all talk of money and the like is absurd," Tevanyan said. Tevanyan is also a candidate for parliament in the June 7 parliamentary elections and is second on the Prosperous Armenia Party's election list. As a reminder, the Prosperous Armenia Party Oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan and the Mother Armenia party are participating in the parliamentary elections together. Mother Armenia party leader Andranik Tevanyan stated at a congress in Yerevan on February 15 that they were "completely satisfied" with the Prosperous Armenia party's election program and spoke of the need for "opposition forces to participate in the elections as a united front," adding that "a change of power is necessary, and the parliamentary elections should mark the end of a "page of defeat and shame."