The facts mentioned in the article of “Zhamanak” daily checked

The facts mentioned in the article headlined “Electoral bribe is distributed in Karbi” published in “Zhamanak” daily have been checked by the Ashtarak Division of the Police.

In particular, the Aragatsotn Prosecutor’s Office tasked to check the circumstances mentioned in the article headlined “Electoral bribe is distributed in Karbi” published in “Zhamanak” daily on 4 May, 2012. According to the daily’s own sources, on 3 May, 2012, bribe had been distributed for the Republican Party of Armenia in polling station 14 located in Karbi village. The pupils had been forced to go to the rally of the Republican Party of Armenia, whereas on 3 May, 2012, on the day of the rally of the Prosperous Armenia Party, the directorate of the school had closed the doors so as nobody could participate in the rally. The daily reported that the villagers are supporters of the Armenian National Congress and the Prosperous Armenia Party that is why the school headmaster and the head of the community had distributed 10 000 AMD on the previous day. Those teachers who were not registered in the village had not received the electoral bribe and had complained.

Materials have been prepared in the Ashtarak Division of the Police and it has been revealed that Arsen Ohanyan, the headmaster of Karbi community school after Vahan Tekeyan, and Frunzik Nazaretyan, the head of the community, did not distribute bribe to the teachers, the school directorate did not force the pupils to go to the rallies and the rally of the Prosperous Armenia Party was held in Karbi not on 3 May, 2012 but on 2 May, 2012 at about 12:30 a.m., during which the doors of the school were not closed and they did not hinder the implementation of the voter’s free will. Besides the pupils and teachers of the school did not participate in any rally as they were having lessons at that time.

The head of Karbi community Frunzik Nazaretyan, the chief accountant Grigor Grigoryan, the tax collector Hrachya Arshakyan, the headmaster of Karbi community school after Vahan Tekeyan Arsen Ohanyan, deputy headmaster Lusik Hovhannisyan, warden Jora Karapetyan as well as four teachers and sixteen pupils confirmed the above-mentioned facts and said that no bribe had been distributed by the headmaster of Karbi community school after Vahan Tekeyan and the head of the community, the doors of the school had not been closed and the implementation of the voter’s free will had not been hindered.

The Police undertook operative-intelligence measures and the facts mentioned in the article were not confirmed.

It has been decided to dismiss the initiation of the criminal case as the facts mentioned in the article of “Zhamanak” daily did not correspond to the reality.