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Vartan Oskanian: Depriving me of deputy immunity is injustice against all citizens of Armenia

Vartan Oskanian: Depriving me of deputy immunity is injustice against all citizens of Armenia

3 October 2012

The Armenian Parliament's approval of Armenian Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan's petition on depriving Vartan Oskanian of his deputy immunity is injustice not only against him, but also against all the citizens of Armenia, the ex-foreign minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian says on his Facebook page.

To recall, on September 27 Prosecutor General Hovsepyan appealed to the Parliament for a permission to involve Vartan Oskanian as an accused party in the money laundering case against Civilitas Foundation. The appeal implies deprivation of deputy immunity, but not arrest. Oskanian has already made a statement saying that Aghvan Hovsepyan's appeal was a political order.  On June 12 the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia submitted details of the criminal case against Civilitas Foundation initiated on May 25 (article 190.3 of the Criminal Code of the RA money laundering). The
criminal case against the Civilitas Foundation concerns the $2mln transaction for the sale of Huntsman Building Products, an Armenia-based company owned by US-based Polymer Materials and Huntsman International.

To note, today Vartan Oskanian was deprived of his deputy immunity.  64 members of the parliament voted for and six - against, and one ballot was considered invalid. The total of 71 members of the parliament from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia and "Orinats Yerkir" party took part in the voting. All the opposition parties as well as the "Prosperous Armenia" Party boycotted the voting.

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