The opposition mayoral candidate was detained in Artik.
The candidate for the position of head of the Artik community, Arthur Astoyan, and members of his team were detained a day before the municipal elections, reported the opposition party "Country for Life". The Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia confirmed the detentions in a case of voter bribery.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the municipal elections on October 25 in Armenia are accompanied by the detention of opposition members. Thus, on October 21 in Stepanavan, law enforcement detained 14 people, including the candidate for the head of the community from "Strong Armenia", Arsen Gevorgyan, who was later arrested. By October 23, the number of detainees in the case of alleged voter bribery reached 24. Gevorgyan's defense rejected the accusations, stating that the money was intended for campaign expenses.
According to the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia, within the framework of the criminal proceedings on electoral corruption crimes, investigative and other procedural actions are being conducted in several settlements of the country, and there are detainees.
"In the interests of the investigation, we cannot provide any other information at this time," said a committee official, whose words were quoted today by News.am.
According to sources, this concerns the detention in Artik of the candidate for the head of the community from the "Country for Life" party, Arthur Astoyan, and his associates. The detentions occurred on the day of silence before the municipal elections, the publication noted.
The "Country for Life" party confirmed that Astoyan and several members of his team were detained by law enforcement this morning. Astoyan's associates linked the actions of law enforcement to the upcoming voting.
"This is yet another illegal repression by the authorities against our team, aimed at preventing a change of power in the Artik community," the party stated, as reported today by Armenia Today.
It should be noted that the parliamentary elections on June 7 of this year in Armenia also took place against the backdrop of mass detentions of opposition members. Only in Gyumri, on the day of voting, about 20 supporters of the "Strong Armenia" and "Armenia" blocs were detained. The Investigative Committee reported that from April to 15:00 on June 7, it initiated 117 criminal proceedings on electoral crimes, initiated criminal prosecution against 86 people, and conducted about 280 searches.
After the voting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the victory of the "Civil Contract" and the defeat of the main opponents, whom he called the "three-headed party of war": political forces Samvel Karapetyan, Robert Kocharyan, and Gagik Tsarukyan. The Prime Minister announced criminal prosecution of opposition leaders and the seizure of property that the authorities consider to be illegally acquired.
On June 9, a case was initiated against the leader of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan for tax evasion on a large scale, and he was banned from leaving the country. In July, he was arrested on charges of fraud and tax evasion, and in August, new charges of extortion and legalization of property obtained by criminal means were brought against him. On September 4, the court extended the arrest until November 7.
In June, the exit from Armenia was restricted for the second president of the country, leader of the "Armenia" bloc Robert Kocharyan. Charges of abuse of office were also brought against the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan.