Artur Vanetsyan’s lawyers to file defamation lawsuit against the PM’s spokeswoman

Panorama, Armenia
May 1 2020

The lawyers of former Director of the National Security Service (NSS) Artur Vanetsyan are set to file a defamation lawsuit against the spokeswoman of Armenia’s PM Mane Gevorgyan, the office of Artur Vanetsyan said in a released statement.

The statement came following Mane Gevorgyan’s Facebook post in which the PM’s spokeswoman alleged Vanetsyan had acquired share in Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine through illegal schemes and exceeding official authorities. Gevorgyan also conveyed the PM’s expectation from the law enforcement bodies ‘to properly investigate’ the case and ‘present reliable responses to the Armenian people.’

“We state that allegations made by the PM’s spokesperson has no touch with reality. We deem it as acceptable and appalling to disseminate explicitly defamatory allegations through the spokesperson of the head of state as well as the instruction to proper investigation the case which contains elements of political pressure,” the statement released by lawyers Lusine Sahakyan and Aramazad Kiviryan read.

It is noted that that the defense team of Vanetsyan will make use of all available legal tools to protect the rights of Artur Vanetsyan and apply to court with an administrative lawsuit.