Nephew of Armenia's ex-president sentenced to 5.5 years in prison

Nephew of Armenia’s ex-president sentenced to 5.5 years in prison

Armenia’s ex-president Serzh Sargsyan‘s nephew has been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison by the Yerevan court. Narek Sargsyan is accused of illegal possession of weapons, drug trafficking, and organizing a kidnapping. While delivering his verdict, the judge explained that Sargsyan had already been under arrest for some time, and his prison term would end in three and a half years.

After hearing the judge’s verdict. Sargsyan waved his hand at the journalists and left the courtroom.

Narek Sargsyan is not the only member of the family and entourage of the ex-president of Armenia, who, after the Velvet Revolution of 2018, became the center of attention of law enforcement agencies as criminal cases were also launched against the brothers, nephews, and son-in-law of Serzh Sargsyan.

Moreover, the former president himself is accused in the so-called Diesel case. He is believed to have squandered more than $ 1 million from the state budget.

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The case of Narek Sargsyan

A criminal case against the ex-president’s nephew was launched in 2018 when he was also put on the wanted list.

On December 6 last year, Narek Sargsyan was detained in Prague with a fake passport in the name of Franklin Gonzalez, a citizen of Guatemala.

Narek pleaded guilty to all charges and does not intend to appeal the verdict.

Criminal cases against ex-president and his relatives

Former President Serzh Sargsyan is involved in the so-called Diesel case. He is believed to have squandered more than $ 1 million from the budget.

The preliminary investigation into the case of the ex-President of Armenia was completed in January 2020. The investigating considered the evidence sufficient to bring the case to court.

The former head of state himself does not admit his guilt and considers this case to be political persecution.

In addition to Serzh Sargsyan himself, his relatives also became the focus of law enforcement agencies.

A criminal case was initiated against the elder brother of Serzh Sargsyan – Levon Sargsyan accused of large-scale embezzlement.

Another nephew of the ex-president, Hayk Sargsyan, was suspected of attempted murder in 2018.

A criminal case was also initiated against another brother of Serzh Sargsyan – Alexander Sargsyan on charges of large-scale fraud.

Serzh Sargsyan’s son-in-law Mikael Minasyan is accused of illegal enrichment, declaring false information about income, and legalizing property obtained by criminal means. The court in Armenia has repeatedly decided to arrest him, and after appealing the sentence, dropped the charges against him. Minasyan himself is currently residing in an unknown location outside Armenia.

Mikael Minasyan’s father was also charged with large-scale embezzlement, abuse of authority, and forgery of documents. Ara Minasyan has been the head of the ‘Surb Grigor Lusavorich’ Medical Center for many years. After the revolution, he was removed from office.