The court session of one of the criminal proceedings against the opposition politician, former human rights defender Karapet Poghosyan continued today in the court of general jurisdiction of Shirak region.
It has nothing to do with the arrest and subsequent two-month detention of an opposition politician on the day of the National Assembly elections, June 7. Karapet Poghosyan is currently in the Armavir Penitentiary, from there he was transferred to the Shirak Court for a hearing.
The case being examined in the court was initiated in 2022, based on the complaints of the then Shirak Marz Prosecutor Gurgen Grigoryan and Shirak Marz Prosecutor Hrant Muradyan.
According to the criminal proceedings, Karapet Poghosyan was charged with the fact that he published on his “Facebook” social network in September-October 2022 the prosecutor of Shirak region G. H. Prosecutor of Grigoryan and Shirak Marz Prosecutor’s Office. Defamatory information about Muradyan and causing other damage to their rights and legal interests, related to the legitimate service and professional activities of the mentioned persons.
Charges were brought under part 2 of Article 490 of the RA Criminal Code.
The article is called “Threatening or publishing information about a judge, prosecutor, investigator, head of an investigative body, investigation body, lawyer, representative, expert or enforcer, or destroying or damaging their property, or using violence against them”.
Part 2: “Publishing defamatory information about the persons provided for in part 1 of this article or causing other damage to the rights and legal interests of the specified persons or destroying or damaging the property of the specified persons in connection with the legal official or professional activities of the specified persons shall be punished by restriction of freedom for a period of one to three years, or short-term imprisonment for a period of one to two months, or imprisonment for a period of two to five years.”
Today, the court heard Gurgen Grigoryan, the former prosecutor of Shirak, who said that Karapet Poghosyan both personally insulted him and questioned his professional abilities with his publications.
He stated that, according to his analysis, the publications containing offensive expressions about him are related to his official professional activity, Karapet Poghosyan has not communicated with him, does not know who he is, is never familiar with his personal, human, professional qualities.
According to his presentation, Karapet Poghosyan, who, according to his information, was engaged in human rights activities, was accused of insulting, the prosecutor in that case was Hrant Muradyan, Poghosyan tried to present the situation, the reality in a different light.
Lawyer Ruben Melikyan protects the interests of Karapet Poghosyan.
He wondered whether all of this had any more tangible consequences for Gurgen Grigoryan, or whether it merely caused a depressed psychological state.
The former prosecutor mentioned that for him any insult has a serious consequence, a serious weight.
“The tangible thing is that I am hurt,” answered Gurgen Grigoryan.
Ruben Melikyan said in a conversation with journalists that he took charge of Karapet Poghosyan’s defense in three cases, but they are not related to the political case, because of which he is currently in prison custody.
They are cases from years ago, they are being examined in the court of general jurisdiction of Shirak region.
“This case is related to his raising certain issues during his public activities, and our claim is that as a result of them, to put it mildly, the prosecutor of Shirak marz finished his work.
This is our hypothesis, our approach, we had the approach of the victim today, and we tried to make the reality clear for the court.
The fact is that, in our opinion, if a person (referring to the former prosecutor of Chirak) writes an application during an official investigation, then his will cannot be free.”
The lawyer mentioned that they have the right to think and consider dispelled suspicion that this happened as a result of Karapet Poghosyan’s human rights activities.
According to the lawyer, insult is not subject to criminal liability by law, defamatory information is subject to criminal liability by law, and those two categories are fundamentally different, and in this case they will try to reach an acquittal.
By the way, Aravot.am has repeatedly referred to the so-called conflict between Gurgen Grigoryan and Karapet Poghosyan.
After nearly two years in office, on November 17, 2022, a first-class advisor to justice was dismissed from the position of Chirac’s prosecutor according to his own application. Gurgen Grigoryan.
Criminal proceedings were initiated against him at the National Security Service, under Article 495, Part 3, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code, on the basis of the sensational statement made in the press by Gyumri opposition figure Karapet Poghosyan. Karapet Poghosyan held a press conference, accusing Gurgen Grigoryan of instigating fabricated criminal cases against him.
Karapet Poghosyan also stated that after criticizing the prosecutor on his Facebook page, he sent people with a criminal subculture to him, offering deals.
Before being removed from office, Shirak prosecutor Gurgen Grigoryan filed a report against Gyumri opposition human rights defender Karapet Poghosyan, demanding that he be held criminally responsible, because the latter gives an offensive profile of him on social networks and thus subjects him to psychological torture. pressure.
It should be noted that Gurgen Grigoryan currently holds the position of Deputy Head of Internal Security and Control of the RA Anti-Corruption Committee.
Let’s also note that Karapet Poghosyan, who was arrested on the day of the NA elections, is now detained for two months, the criminal proceedings against him are being investigated by the anti-corruption committee.
Nune AREVSHATIAN
