Armen Gevorkyan was charged with obstruction of justice
YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Citing a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable, an Armenian law-enforcement agency has charged Armen Gevorgyan, a former top aide to former President Robert Kocharian, with obstructing justice in the wake of Armenia’s disputed 2008 presidential election.
Gevorgyan was the chief of the presidential staff during the February 2008 ballot that sparked deadly street violence in Yerevan. He went on to serve Armenia’s deputy prime minister and hold other senior positions in the administration of Kocharian’s successor, Serzh Sarkisian.
The Special Investigative Service (SIS) avoided arresting Gevorgyan when it reported its decision to prosecute him late on Friday. The SIS chief, Sasun Khachatryan, said that the former official stands accused of pressuring a member of the Armenia’s Constitutional Court to uphold the official election results that gave victory to Sarkisian.
The judge, Valeri Poghosyan, met with officials from the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan on March 6, 2008, two days before the court rejected an appeal lodged by Levon Ter-Petros3.
sian, the main opposition presidential candidate. The then U.S. charge d’affaires in Yerevan, Joseph Pennington, gave a detailed account of the “secretâ€
