MFA employee Ashkhen Aleksanyan acquitted of state treason; charges reclassified, lawyer says

Ashkhen Aleksanyan, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been acquitted of state treason, lawyer Abgar Poghosyan told Aysor.am. The charges against her have been reclassified under Part 1 of Article 441 of the Armenian Criminal Code, qualifying her actions as abuse of official authority.

On his Facebook page, Poghosyan elaborated: “The Criminal Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, chaired by Ani Danielyan, issued a verdict in the case of RA MFA employee Ashkhen Aleksanyan. She was acquitted of charges under Article 418 of the RA Criminal Code, which relates to state treason and carries a penalty of 15-20 years or life imprisonment.

The court determined that her actions fall under Part 1 of Article 441 of the RA Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of four years. While the defense intends to appeal the verdict in the Criminal Court of Appeal, we wish to express our special gratitude to the court for conducting an impartial, objective, and unbiased investigation.”

The lawyer also highlighted that Aleksanyan faced unjust public defamation: photos were circulated, the presumption of innocence was violated, and false information unrelated to reality was spread about her.