14:28, 11 September 2025

Gyumri Mayor Calls His Son's Detention Political

Security forces detained Spartak Ghukasyan in an extortion case. Gyumri Mayor, opposition representative Vardan Ghukasyan, called the case absurd and politically motivated.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, snap elections to the Gyumri Council of Elders were held on March 30. The ruling Civil Contract party won the elections, but the votes it received were not enough for the party's candidate Sarik Minasyan to become mayor, and the communist Vardan Ghukasyan received the opportunity to take the post. Hetook office on April 19. On April 20, Ghukasyan announced that an assassination attempt was being prepared against him and promised to make public the details of those behind it if an attack occurred.

In October 2024, representatives of the Balasanyan opposition bloc, including Mayor Vardges Samsonyan, resigned early as members of the Gyumri Council of Elders. On November 8, 2024, the Council of Elders failed to elect a new mayor, as the ruling political force failed to ensure a quorum without the support of the opposition. The acting mayor was appointed by the Prime Minister of Armenia from among the candidates of the ruling force based on the results of the primaries; he was Sarik Minasyan. Observers noted abnormal turnout in the elections, linking it to targeted voting.

The son of Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, Spartak Ghukasyan, has been detained, the "Novosti Armenia" agency reported with reference to the press secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Narek Sargsyan.

The press secretary of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Kima Avdalyan reported, in turn, that "during the preliminary investigation of the criminal case, a public criminal prosecution was initiated against one person under the article "Extortion with the use of other coercive measures" of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan commented on the detention of his son. "I have read the indictment. It is about an alleged 24 square meters of "shack". They themselves wrote that it costs only 90,000 drams (about 235 US dollars). They are arresting a father of four for 90,000 drams. This man, together with me, invested millions of dollars in Gyumri. The Surb Amnenaprkich Church (Savior's Church) alone is enough to understand this," Aysor.Am quoted him as saying.

According to him, the case is political in nature. "This is simply impunity and arbitrariness. If you want to settle scores with me, talk to me, why interfere in the family? What do you want to say by this - for us to lower our heads, be silent, not speak up when the Motherland is in danger? They brought security forces from Yerevan when my son was just taking his child to kindergarten... And they attack him like this?! I am ready to everything, if necessary, let them ask me personally," Vardan Ghukasyan added.

"Pashinyan has launched a forceful operation against Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan and is doing it in the lowest possible way, through his family," blogger Mika Badalyan commented on Spartak Ghukasyan's detention.

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Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/415326