November 2, 2025 – Page 27 – Advertising and Donations

#SouthCaucasus
Is Everyone in #Armenia Being #Wiretapped? Pashinyan’s Comment at the Anti-Corruption Committee news.am/eng/news/911386.html…
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Anti-Corruption Committee and attended an event dedicated to the Committee Employee’s Day and the 4th anniversary of the institution’s establishment.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Committee’s chairman, Artur Nahapetyan, as well as its officers and staff on the occasion, noting that the Committee is one of the institutions whose creation is directly linked to the 2018 peaceful, non-violent Velvet Revolution in Armenia. According to Pashinyan, the fight against corruption is one of the political team’s main “brands.”

“But within this anti-corruption struggle, new questions have arisen — questions we did not have answers to initially, and, in fact, we were not even aware of their existence in the beginning. In 2018, it seemed that in order to wage an effective fight against corruption, all that was needed was political will, and many problems would be solved through that. That is, of course, true, because without political will, no issue can be solved at all. Political will means how much the government, the political leadership, truly wants the anti-corruption struggle to take place in practice,” said the Prime Minister, adding that they later came to the conclusion that this political will should be embodied in a specific institution — hence the creation of the Anti-Corruption Committee.

Pashinyan emphasized that an important factor is credibility — when political authorities declare their fight against corruption, it is not something new; every government claims the same thing.

“What matters is how the message should work so that everyone understands this is serious — not a joke, not humor,” he said, stressing that if the level of corruption in Armenia has been as high as people often say, that means many individuals have been involved in it.

The Prime Minister then turned to the issue of relationships within the judicial, legal, and state systems.

“Everyone has classmates, friends, relatives, army buddies, neighbors, and so on. The investigative body might show a bit of leniency, the prosecutorial body a bit more, the courts at all three levels — first instance, appellate, cassation — might each be a bit ‘understanding.’ Add to that a bit of influence from those in power or with connections — and any case risks never reaching its conclusion. If you analyze it, you’ll see: reports, reports, reports — endless reports. What happens in the end? You realize there is no end,” Pashinyan said, adding that in such an environment, it is impossible to effectively combat corruption.

He also referred to the link between the region’s geopolitical situation and the work of law enforcement agencies, including anti-corruption efforts. Pashinyan noted that when the situation is unstable — with tensions and escalations — regardless of one’s job, “you are still a citizen of the country,” and that includes investigators, prosecutors, and judges, who are unable to fully concentrate on their work.

“This is a factor I have personally felt. And the reason I mention it is that now, when I observe the system, I see that law enforcement — including anti-corruption efforts — seems more active. Of course, this is not the only factor, but in my view, the peace now established in our region gives investigative bodies more opportunity to focus on their work,” said the Prime Minister.

Speaking about personnel policy, Pashinyan said that one of the important factors in appointing Artur Nahapetyan as the head of the Committee was his experience as a judge.

“There are constant discussions that investigators and judges view situations differently. I told Mr. Nahapetyan that it’s very important for cases coming out of the Committee to also be viewed through the eyes of a judge, so that we can close that discussion space — that investigators perceive things one way and judges another. I’m confident that this factor will also significantly contribute to the Committee’s efficiency,” said Pashinyan.

He added that for the law enforcement system, it has not been easy to operate under the current conditions of social media and freedom of speech, given that targeted attacks are launched through social networks against specific investigators and investigative groups — even with the publication of their family members’ photos.

“These, too, are factors that have influenced the process. I say have influenced because I believe that when such phenomena are new, systems take time to adapt to them — and to find ways to counter them. My impression is that our law enforcement bodies, including the Anti-Corruption Committee, have now better adapted to this environment and are more capable of protecting themselves,” Pashinyan noted.

Finally, Pashinyan addressed the question of whether everyone in Armenia is being wiretapped.

“There are major cases where wiretaps are published and so on. The law on operational intelligence activities in Armenia is not new. It clearly defines under what circumstances, when, and how such operational measures can be conducted — and all democratic countries have similar systems. The only ‘novelty’ is that, since the fight against crime and corruption is so vital and principled for us, the government is indeed investing to ensure that Armenia’s operational bodies have the necessary technical capacities,” said the Prime Minister.

He added that crime itself is becoming more technological, and if law enforcement does not adopt technological approaches as well, the entire fight against crime will fail.

According to Pashinyan, investigative bodies today are no longer so dependent on personal testimonies:

“Investigators now proceed from the assumption that even if there are attempts to pressure witnesses to withdraw testimony, there must still be a solid factual base so that cases can reach their logical conclusion.”

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that there is now more activity in criminal proceedings within the Anti-Corruption Committee, and that all the conditions exist for the anti-corruption fight to become more effective.

“The political will of the government to fight corruption has not diminished and will not diminish. This is our top priority. We are making significant investments in corruption prevention. Today, our Anti-Corruption Committee has sufficient technical capacity, and I hope this will have a preventive effect — people will think seven or eight times before taking such a step. That is our goal: to prevent corruption through our policies,” concluded Pashinyan.

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Nov 2, 2025

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