By Alexander Pracht
Armenia’s National Assembly on Thursday approved a request from the country’s Prosecutor General to initiate criminal proceedings against independent MP Hovik Aghazaryan and “I Have Honor” faction MP Taron Margaryan. The motion received 65 votes in favor and two against in Aghazaryan’s case, and 67 votes in favor in Margaryan’s case. Members of two opposition factions, Armenia and the I Have Honor alliance, boycotted the vote.
Aghazaryan is accused of soliciting and accepting a bribe. He denies the charges. A former member of the ruling Civil Contract party, he was expelled last year. Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan previously stated that Aghazaryan was found to have shared classified information with journalists.
Margaryan, who served as Yerevan’s mayor between 2011 and 2018, has been accused of illegal property transactions and money laundering. He did not attend the parliamentary session, and his fellow MP Hayk Mamijanyan told reporters that Margaryan denies the allegations.
