Lawyer: Criminal case against ex-Armenian parliament speaker returned to investigator

The Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office has returned the criminal case against former Armenian National Assembly Speaker Ara Babloyan to the investigator, partially satisfying the defense appeal, his lawyer Aram Vardevanyan said.

“Other issues raised in the appeal are set to be addressed in the future. I attach importance to the position and decision of the Prosecutor's Office in this case,” the lawyer said in a Facebook post.

The attorney’s office told Panorama.am the prosecutor overseeing the investigative activity related to the case decided not to approve the indictment filed by the Special Investigative Service, returning it for further probe into the circumstances of the case.

Ara Babloyan was charged with ‘usurpation of power’ on 28 October as part of a criminal investigation into Hrayr Tovmasyan’s appointment as chairman of Armenia’s Constitutional Court in 2018.

Charges have also been levelled against Arsen Babayan, the former deputy chief of the Armenian parliament staff, as part of the same criminal case.

Both Babloyan and Babayan strongly deny any wrongdoing.