In Armenia, court dismissed complaint of "Civilitas" founder against NSS actions

The court in Yerevan has dismissed a complaint lodged by the advocate of Vardan Oskanyan, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the founder of the "Civilitas" Foundation, against the decision of the National Security Service (NSS) to initiate a criminal case against the Foundation.

On May 25, the NSS initiated a criminal case against the "Civilitas" Foundation, founded by Oskanyan (now an MP from the "Prosperous Armenia " Party) in 2008, on charges of "laundering" illegal proceeds. Vardan Oskanyan figures in the case as a witness. On July 12, the lawyer of the "Civilitas" Arthur Grigoryan appealed against the decision of the NSS. This appeal complaint was dismissed today.

Earlier, Arthur Grigoryan has stated that should the decision of the NSS not cancelled, the "Civilitas" would appeal to all superior courts, up to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Vardan Oskanyan stated that "the criminal case was politically motivated."