ARF member detained in vote-buying case

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ara Nakhshkaryan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), was detained at his home at around 9:00 a.m. on July 29, according to his lawyer, Abrasim Atoyan.

Armenia's Anti-Corruption Committee said the detention was carried out within the framework of a criminal investigation into alleged election bribery, including both the giving and receiving of bribes.

"In response, we confirm that A.N., who was a parliamentary candidate on the Hayastan Alliance electoral list, was detained today as part of the criminal proceedings initiated by the Anti-Corruption Committee over alleged cases of giving and receiving election bribes," the Committee said.

On June 6, the Anti-Corruption Committee announced that it had uncovered what it described as a new election bribery scheme involving one of the Hayastan Alliance parliamentary candidates.

Ara Nakhshkaryan is the director of the Gyumri office of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society, as well as a public figure and intellectual. He ran as a parliamentary candidate on the Hayastan Alliance ticket in the most recent parliamentary elections.