On 26 March, the Anti-Corruption Court, considered the case against Kamo Kochunts, the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, former Head of the, GS Mobilization Department, Sasun Simonyan, Head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Defense and Mher Shirinyan, the former Head of MOD HR and Education Department, current Head of АF Armament Department. Judge Suren Khachatryan was presiding over the session.
The indictment states that Kochunts, being a member of the General Housing Committee of the Ministry of Defense, for the sake of group interests, with the member of the same committee, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense Garnik Hayrapetyan, the Head of the Administrative Apparatus of the GS of Armed Forces Aris Brutyan, the Head of the Department of Social Protection of Servicemen of MOD Serzh Arushanyan, Headof the MOD Legal Department Sasun Simonyan, Head of MOD HR and Education Department Mher Shirinyan, Head of the Ministry of Defense Construction and Housing Department, Ashot Grigoryan and Head of the GS Personnel Department of the Armed Forces Stepan Gevorgyan, in January 2018, using his official position against the interests of the service in the process of distributing apartments in one of the apartment buildings in Yerevan, which is on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, and which has caused significant damage to the rights and legal interests of individuals, as well as the legal interests of the state, which has inadvertently caused serious consequences.
According to Iravaban.net , more than 20 victims attended the session. The Judge noted that within the framework of this case, they reached the discussion of the order and sequence of evidence examination.
Before passing to the definition of the procedure, Mher Shirinyan’s defense attorney petitioned to change the measure of restraint of his defendant. In particular, he mentioned that the ban on absence, which was set by the court in the previous court session, was chosen as a measure of restraint against Shirinyan. Now, taking into account that Mher Shirinyan may be absent from the borders of the Republic of Armenia for a short time due to service needs, as well as personal problems, they asked to change it.
The defense attorney mentioned that Mher Shirinyan is a Major General and is currently in the service, there can be no danger of the latter not fulfilling the duties imposed on him by the court. He is married and has three minor children. He proposed to replace the prohibition of absence with bail. Vazgen Harutyunyan said that Shirinyan undertakes to pay up to 2 million drams of bail from his personal funds.
Prosecutor Arman Nshanyan expressed his position regarding the petition, noting that the matter was resolved during the previous session, his position is the same, and the bail cannot ensure the proper behavior of the defendant during the trial in this criminal case.
According to the Judge, at the previous court session, the issue of whether or not to have a measure of restraint was discussed. However, Shirinyan’s representative announced in court that the criminal case had been initiated since 2019 and was under investigation until 22 December, 2023. Mher Shirinyan and the other defendants in the case have shown proper behavior. “It turned out that in these two or three months, the latter cannot show proper behavior. 2 million drams is enough to assure that the accuser shall not have any doubt that Mher Shirinyan has shown proper behavior.”
The court, having heard the positions of both parties, decided to meet the petition.
After that Prosecutor Arman Nshanyan presented the list of evidences, which, according to him, prove the charges.
The testimonies of several witnesses were presented, with which, according to the Prosecutor, the violations in the process of providing apartments in Yerevan by the General Housing Committee were proved. The Public Prosecutor noted that the official position was used against the interests of the service in the process of distribution of apartments, which caused significant damage to the rights and legal interests of a number of people, as well as the legal interests of the state, which inadvertently caused serious consequences.
“According to witness Simon Khachatryan’s testimony, the fact of subordination established by the General Housing Committee under the conditions of his not being in the housing register and the circumstance of allocating an apartment without discussing the issue of allocating him an apartment was confirmed. According to the testimony of the next witness, after completing the process of allocating an apartment at the specified address in Yerevan, in fact, after some time without discussing the issue, the circumstance of including him in the list and allocating an apartment was confirmed,” the Prosecutor noted.
According to Arman Nshanyan, the testimony of the other witnesses confirmed the fact that the issue of allocating apartments to the latter was not discussed at the Committee’s session, and the circumstance of allocating apartments according to the verbal priority set by the Minister. According to the witness Kamo Abrahamyan’s testimony, the fact that he was the spiritual leader of the RA Armed Forces, and therefore was not a soldier, was allocated an apartment based on the basis given by the Committee, the Prosecutor noted.
The accuser also noted that the testimonies of the victims, namely Armen Kirakosyan, Gevorg Stepanyan, Karen Rustabashyan, Ruben Hovhannisyan, Ara Arakelyan, Vahagn Khamberyan, Armen Hovhannisyan, Armen Gevorgyan confirmed the circumstance that they were on the existing list of servicemen to be provided with a three-room apartment and they were not provided apartments, and providing apartments to the people who were waiting in line after them.
“According to the testimony of victims Garik Zakaryan, Hayk Grigoryan, Areg Vardanyan, the fact that they were listed in the list of servicemen to be provided with a two-room apartment was confirmed by the circumstances of providing an apartment to those who were next in line on the list.
According to the testimony of victims Siranush Anakhasyan, Lilya Papikyan, Arsen Tsarukyan, Edgar Gyozalyan, Susanna Khachatryan, Mnatsakan Avetisyan, Sargis Shahverdyan, Stepan Lalayan, Aram Tovmasyan, Vagharshak Hunanyan, Vardges Hambardzumyan, Davit Sargsyan, Gayen Harutyunyan, Armen Ghazaryan, Artur Karapetyan, Gevorg Hakobyan, the circumstance of providing apartments to the persons who were listed after them in the list was confirmed by the latter, under the condition that they were included in the list of servicemen to be provided with housing,” Arman Nshanyan said.
The Public Prosecutor also mentioned that the testimony of the defendants Kamo Kochunts, Mher Shirinyan and Sasun Simonyan proved the circumstances of the process of providing apartments from the building located at the specified address in Yerevan city by the Central Housing Commission, as well as the circumstances of providing apartments to a number of servicemen without discussing the issue regarding the latter’s apartments, studying.
Public Prosecutor Armen Nshanyan presented in order, the evidence obtained as a result of the investigation to the court and the trial participants.
The Prosecutor proposed to establish the following procedure of examination of evidence: first examine the documents, and then interrogate the witnesses, the victims, and then the accused.
The Judge noted that the next question under Article 311 of the Criminal Procedure Code concerns the admissibility of evidence. Sasun Simonyan’s defense attorney Harutyun Khalatyan, said that he has a motion to file in this regard, but not during this session.
The next court hearing is on 7 May.
Mariam Shahnazaryan
