On September 6, the Anti-Corruption Criminal Court continued the trial of Armenia’s National Hero, former Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan, and 12 other defendants. Judge Tigran Davtyan presides over the case.
Note that besides Andranik Piloyan, charges have also been brought against Ashot Hakobyan, Vigen Mkrtchyan, Hrachya Yeremyan, Mihrdat Matevosyan, Arthur Ohanyan, Ara Yaghjyan, Gor Hambardzumyan, Artak Beybutyan, Tatul Gevorgyan, Tigran Gasparyan, Gagik Poghosyan, and Vigen Grigoryan.
According to Iravaban.net, defendants Andranik Piloyan, Arthur Ohanyan, Vigen Mkrtchyan, and Ashot Hakobyan declined to give closing statements.
Defendant Ara Yaghjyan, in his closing statement, noted that he and his defense counsel had not been unnecessarily absent during this case, and court sessions were not postponed due to them.
He thanked the court for showing trust in him and replacing the chosen preventive measure with bail: “Thanks to this decision of the court, I have not been deprived of the opportunity to travel for actions important to my business activities, my companies’ operations have proceeded naturally, thanks to which I have continued to operate, provide jobs, and pay taxes.”
Yaghjyan expressed hope that the court would give an objective assessment and restore justice, ending the “Odyssey of the fabricated criminal case” against him that has lasted for over two years.
Defendant Hrachya Yeremyan, in his closing statement, noted that he was informed about the crimes attributed to him only during the preliminary investigation, and there were never any conversations about money between him and Minister Andranik Piloyan.
He stated that for more than two years, the National Security Service has been investigating this case to reveal a bribery incident, but no such thing has occurred: “I consider myself deceived in this case, first I was deceived in the store, then they deceived the minister that such a thing happened, and I insist that they can’t even find such a person because there is no such person.” The defendant asked for a fair verdict.
In the previous session, Ashot Hakobyan’s defense counsel had requested to reduce the amount of bail chosen as a preventive measure for his client. He noted that Hakobyan has financial and health problems and presented medical documents regarding the health condition of family members.
Considering the existing severe health and financial problems, he requested to reduce the amount of 10 million drams to 3 million.
Andranik Piloyan’s defense counsel, Andranik Manukyan, also requested to reduce the amount of bail chosen as a preventive measure for Piloyan from 15 million drams to 10 million, and to return the 5 million drams given for bail to the latter.
He noted that Andranik Piloyan has not been working for a long time, and he and his family members have a certain need for that money.
After reviewing the documents presented by Ashot Hakobyan’s defense counsel, prosecutor Koryun Serobyan stated that the motion is subject to rejection, as they are not sufficient to reduce the amount of bail, and the medical documents do not justify the severe financial situation.
Regarding the motion presented by Andranik Manukyan, the prosecutor expressed the same position, emphasizing that the data obtained within the framework of the criminal proceedings testify to the property status of the accused: “It is difficult to agree with the defense’s position that the amount of bail should be changed due to the severe financial situation.”
The court will issue a separate decision regarding the motions.
The next court session is on September 20.
Mariam Shahnazaryan
