CEC to review Narek Karapetyan immunity request

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has called an extraordinary session to consider a request submitted by the Prosecutor General's Office regarding Narek Karapetyan, a member of the Strong Armenia party.

According to Aysor.am, the Prosecutor General's Office has requested permission to initiate public criminal prosecution against Karapetyan and to deprive him of his liberty.

The request will be discussed during the CEC's extraordinary session scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on July 21, when the commission will decide whether to grant its consent.

Aram Vardevanyan, a lawyer and member of the Strong Armenia party, told reporters that the case is an example of political persecution.

"This is, to put it mildly, a mockery of the rule of law," he said.

According to http://Factor.am , the Prosecutor General's Office has declined to disclose under which article it seeks to charge Narek Karapetyan, who was elected to parliament through the Strong Armenia alliance, or why no charges have yet been brought if, as reported, the need arose about a month ago.

The Prosecutor General's Office stated: "In the interests of the preliminary investigation, no information can be provided."

While the Constitutional Court had not yet issued its final ruling on the parliamentary election results, the Prosecutor General's Office had applied to the CEC seeking authorization to lift Karapetyan's immunity. However, the commission did not consider the request because of its workload.

At its July 8 session, the CEC decided to return the request, explaining that Karapetyan was no longer a parliamentary candidate and therefore the commission no longer had the authority to consider lifting his immunity.

As a result, a situation arose in which Karapetyan was protected by candidate immunity when the Prosecutor General's Office first applied to the CEC, but by the time the commission considered the matter he no longer enjoyed that status. Consequently, the CEC returned the application.

This means that, according to the publication, prosecutors still consider it necessary to charge Karapetyan in the criminal proceedings, yet more than a month has passed without him being formally charged.

Following the parliamentary election, Karapetyan was elected to the National Assembly and has stated that he will take up his mandate. Members of parliament also enjoy parliamentary immunity.

The publication adds that the Prosecutor General's Office may apply to the newly elected National Assembly to seek the lifting of Karapetyan's parliamentary immunity. If that happens, the alleged offense attributed to him will be published on the National Assembly's website, allowing the public to review information that prosecutors currently consider confidential as part of the preliminary investigation.

According to the final election results, the Civil Contract party won 64 parliamentary seats, the Strong Armenia alliance 29 seats, and the Hayastan alliance 12 seats.