The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has sent a criminal case announced by the former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan, to the Special Investigation Service.
The statement came from Arevik Khachatryan, head of the public relations department of the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office, Aysor reports.
Onik Gasparyan accused Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan of abuse of office.
On March 18, lawyer Artur Hovhannisyan said Gasparyan would continue to fulfill his duties as chief of staff. The lawyer said that a decision to satisfy Gasparyan's complaint was posted on the court's website. Hovhannisyan said that there were no questions about the lawful performance of the Commissioner-General.
On March 18, the Cabinet of Ministers of Armenia commented on the court's decision to keep Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. It was noted that he was relieved of the post of Chief of General Staff.
On February 24, on the recommendation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian signed a decree on the dismissal of First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatryan. This is because he ridiculed the views of Prime Minister Pashniyan on the explosion of only 10 percent of the Iskander missiles fired by Armenians at Azerbaijani territories during the Second Karabakh War. So, to a journalist's question, whether only ten percent of the Iskander missiles exploded, Khachatryan laughed a lot and then said: "Of course not. How? Iskander? A shot? ... Ten percent? ... I'm sorry, but it's not serious."
A few hours later, the Defense Ministry issued a statement claiming that Khachatryan's words had been "distorted."
Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Gasparyan, protested against his deputy's dismissal. On February 25, the General Staff issued a statement demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Pashinyan. The document was signed by Gasparyan and more than 40 high-ranking militaries. Among them were 19 generals and army corps commanders.
On the same day, Pashinyan sent a presentation to President Armen Sarkissian on Gasparyan's resignation. However, the head of state returned the presentation to the prime minister protesting it. Pashinyan did not give up and appealed to the president for the second time to dismiss the Chief of Staff. Sarkissian did not sign the decision again and sent it back. The prime minister made a presentation to the president for the third time to dismiss Gasparyan. The president appealed to the Constitutional Court without signing the prime minister's presentation.
At the same time, Gasparyan appealed to the Administrative Court regarding Pashinyan's presentation.
On March 10, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed President Armen Sarkissian with a proposal to appoint Lieutenant General Artak Davtyan as Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces. However, the head of state did not sign the nomination.