The Yerevan Criminal Court has announced its verdict, sentencing Davit Hambardzumyan — head of the Masis community and candidate for Prime Minister of Armenia — to six years and three months in prison. Had the court imposed a six-year sentence, Hambardzumyan would have been eligible for amnesty; however, under the current decision, he will serve the full term.
Hambardzumyan, who is currently abroad on a business trip, issued a statement emphasizing that he has no intention of fleeing: “Dear compatriots, as you know, I am currently on a working visit abroad. My return ticket to Armenia is for October 28. Nothing in my plans has changed. I categorically rule out any thought of escaping from Nikol and his subservient judicial system. I will be in Armenia soon.”
He also added: “After seven and a half years, this decision to hastily imprison me on a fabricated case shows that the punishment against me is purely political. The criminal case launched over the incident that occurred 7.5 years ago was dropped for all other participants — only I was singled out by this government as the ‘organizer,’ with every effort made to put me behind bars. In other words, there are no participants, but there is an organizer.”
Hayk Mamijanyan, head of the “I Have Honor” parliamentary faction, commented on the verdict: “What is happening to Davit Hambardzumyan is political persecution — motivated both by his active and influential role in politics, by the fact that he has defeated the Civil Contract party in various arenas, and by his status as the opposition’s impeachment candidate.”
According to Mamijanyan, this verdict once again demonstrates the ruling authorities’ fear of the impeachment process. “All this can have no negative impact on the impeachment initiative. On the contrary — I believe our citizens and colleagues will now see yet another proof that this process has no alternative,” he said.
Mamijanyan insisted that he continues to believe in the viability of the impeachment process: “Let’s look at its evolution. When it was initiated on June 7, many people doubted its success. Yet today it is the only process that enjoys full, unified support from the parliamentary opposition and significant backing outside parliament as well. Whatever statements the authorities or their media make about it — I absolutely don’t care. Let me add this: the Civil Contract members who will sign the impeachment process in the evening will still spend the morning defending Pashinyan with foam at their mouths. Nothing else can be expected under the current repressive system,” Mamijanyan concluded.