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OSKANIAN STRIPPED OF IMMUNITY: Armenian Parliament frees path for prosecution
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
02.10.12 | 16:53
The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday voted 64-6 to strip Prosperous
Armenia Party (PAP) lawmaker and former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vartan Oskanian of his parliamentary immunity to allow his prosecution
on money embezzlement charges after two days of debate that included
strong suspicions about the political nature of the case. (One vote
was invalid, and 60 deputies did not participate in the vote.)
Reacting to the news of the vote Oskanian wrote on his Facebook page:
"This injustice is not against me. It is against our people, ordinary
citizens, the younger generation and in general against the future
of our country."
During the discussions that followed Prosecutor-General Aghvan
Hovsepyan's presentation of his motion regarding Oskanian, not only the
PAP, but also the three opposition factions of the National Assembly,
namely Heritage, Dashnaktsutyun and the Armenian National Congress
labeled it a "fabricated and baseless case".
In his speech Oskanian himself said that Armenia had returned to
1937 [the peak of the Stalin purges] and was acting on the Stalinist
principle - "we'll find a criminal count to charge a person with if we
find this person". "In this case they've found a person and a count,
but can't find evidence," he said.
Oskanian has been facing criminal proceedings since May 25,
shortly after the PAP refused to form a coalition with the ruling
Republican Party after parliamentary elections. In his petition
the prosecutor-general said that Oskanian embezzled "a particularly
large amount of money entrusted to him by the Huntsman family for the
Civilitas Foundation and meant to be spent for charitable purposes"
and after that "he carried out various activities to legalize those
criminally obtained funds", i.e. was engaged in money laundering.
The prosecutor-general stated that they are "protecting the interests
of Civilitas."
Meanwhile, at today's press conference assembled by Oskanian lawyers,
Civilitas representative, attorney Artur Grigoryan told ArmeniaNow that
"Civilitas' interests are not being defended, but are being grossly
violated. Besides, the Civilitas Foundation and the Huntsman family
do not need the Prosecutor's Office's protection," he said.
Oskanian's lawyer Tigran Atanesyan said that the particular money
embezzlement charge presented to his client has nothing to do with law.
He clarifies that the letter presented on behalf of the Huntsman family
and all members of the Foundation's Board of Trustees proves that a
sum of $1.4 million was transferred to the account of Oskanian with
the consent of all parties, for an indefinite period of time and to be
used at his discretion. Last Saturday, Oskanian transferred the sum,
which by that moment amounted to $1.5 million (including interest)
to the Civilitas account.
"That is, the full sum and extra money generated by interest have
been transferred to the Foundation. If this is called embezzlement
in our country, then I have no other legal interpretation of this,"
said Atanesyan, stressing that a case on the hallmarks of money
laundering had been brought against Oskanian because "it is a very
dirty criminal case, something that is not forgiven and can damage
a person's career and reputation."
International criminal law specialist, consultant Nicholas Koumjian,
who worked as an attorney for 30 years, said he was concerned with
the timing of the prosecution.
"It is not at all a coincidence that the PAP decided not to join
the coalition and the next day this case was instituted. It has
a deliberate and clear message to those who come out against the
government that they will face prosecution. This is clear not only from
the timing of the event, but also from the absence of investigation
of the case as such," said Koumjian.
The veteran attorney is surprised at how prosecutors can bring a case
without even speaking to the Huntsman family first.
"It's absolutely impossible, inconceivable, why wouldn't they even try
to speak to the Huntsman family. There is no need to waive Oskanian's
immunity to be able to speak with the Huntsmans," said the expert.
In their speeches in the parliament chamber many MPs urged the
prosecutor to conduct a "serious and comprehensive examination".
From: A. Papazian
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
02.10.12 | 16:53
The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday voted 64-6 to strip Prosperous
Armenia Party (PAP) lawmaker and former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vartan Oskanian of his parliamentary immunity to allow his prosecution
on money embezzlement charges after two days of debate that included
strong suspicions about the political nature of the case. (One vote
was invalid, and 60 deputies did not participate in the vote.)
Reacting to the news of the vote Oskanian wrote on his Facebook page:
"This injustice is not against me. It is against our people, ordinary
citizens, the younger generation and in general against the future
of our country."
During the discussions that followed Prosecutor-General Aghvan
Hovsepyan's presentation of his motion regarding Oskanian, not only the
PAP, but also the three opposition factions of the National Assembly,
namely Heritage, Dashnaktsutyun and the Armenian National Congress
labeled it a "fabricated and baseless case".
In his speech Oskanian himself said that Armenia had returned to
1937 [the peak of the Stalin purges] and was acting on the Stalinist
principle - "we'll find a criminal count to charge a person with if we
find this person". "In this case they've found a person and a count,
but can't find evidence," he said.
Oskanian has been facing criminal proceedings since May 25,
shortly after the PAP refused to form a coalition with the ruling
Republican Party after parliamentary elections. In his petition
the prosecutor-general said that Oskanian embezzled "a particularly
large amount of money entrusted to him by the Huntsman family for the
Civilitas Foundation and meant to be spent for charitable purposes"
and after that "he carried out various activities to legalize those
criminally obtained funds", i.e. was engaged in money laundering.
The prosecutor-general stated that they are "protecting the interests
of Civilitas."
Meanwhile, at today's press conference assembled by Oskanian lawyers,
Civilitas representative, attorney Artur Grigoryan told ArmeniaNow that
"Civilitas' interests are not being defended, but are being grossly
violated. Besides, the Civilitas Foundation and the Huntsman family
do not need the Prosecutor's Office's protection," he said.
Oskanian's lawyer Tigran Atanesyan said that the particular money
embezzlement charge presented to his client has nothing to do with law.
He clarifies that the letter presented on behalf of the Huntsman family
and all members of the Foundation's Board of Trustees proves that a
sum of $1.4 million was transferred to the account of Oskanian with
the consent of all parties, for an indefinite period of time and to be
used at his discretion. Last Saturday, Oskanian transferred the sum,
which by that moment amounted to $1.5 million (including interest)
to the Civilitas account.
"That is, the full sum and extra money generated by interest have
been transferred to the Foundation. If this is called embezzlement
in our country, then I have no other legal interpretation of this,"
said Atanesyan, stressing that a case on the hallmarks of money
laundering had been brought against Oskanian because "it is a very
dirty criminal case, something that is not forgiven and can damage
a person's career and reputation."
International criminal law specialist, consultant Nicholas Koumjian,
who worked as an attorney for 30 years, said he was concerned with
the timing of the prosecution.
"It is not at all a coincidence that the PAP decided not to join
the coalition and the next day this case was instituted. It has
a deliberate and clear message to those who come out against the
government that they will face prosecution. This is clear not only from
the timing of the event, but also from the absence of investigation
of the case as such," said Koumjian.
The veteran attorney is surprised at how prosecutors can bring a case
without even speaking to the Huntsman family first.
"It's absolutely impossible, inconceivable, why wouldn't they even try
to speak to the Huntsman family. There is no need to waive Oskanian's
immunity to be able to speak with the Huntsmans," said the expert.
In their speeches in the parliament chamber many MPs urged the
prosecutor to conduct a "serious and comprehensive examination".
From: A. Papazian