Badeyan: Surik Khachatryan is not a criminal

Former governor of Armenia’s Syunik province Surik Khachatryan is not a criminal and has the right to field his candidate for Goris city mayor, the deputy of Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) Manvel Badeyan told reporters today.

“Surik Khachatryan is not a criminal. The court did not find him guilty. He has the right to field and support a candidate. As regards an atmosphere of fear in Goris, that’s a lie”, the deputy said.

Speaking about Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan’s meeting with businessmen, M. Badeyan said such contacts are useful and take place in all countries. “The prime minister said that everyone should work within legal boundaries,” the deputy said, noting at the same time that there is nothing wrong in shadow activity.

“Shadow economies exist in all countries. It is an omission, rather than a crime. 99.9% of small and medium businesses currently operate in the shadow economy,” Badeyan said.