Tsarukyan's supporters deliver letter to Iranian ambassador

Supporters of detained Armenian businessman and opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan delivered a letter to Iran's ambassador in Yerevan on Monday, urging the embassy to take note of politically motivated legal proceedings against him.

Speaking outside the Iranian Embassy, Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) member Iveta Tonoyan said the party's political council had sent letters to foreign diplomatic missions and international organisations accredited in Armenia, calling attention to Tsarukyan's unlawful prosecution.

"We want to personally hand the ambassador a letter describing the legal arbitrariness against Gagik Tsarukyan," Tonoyan said.

She argued that international organisations and foreign diplomats should closely monitor the case, saying democratic principles should be applied consistently.

Tonoyan also claimed that the criminal case, which involves two Iranian citizens, risks harming Armenia's long-standing relations with Iran. She described the two individuals as fraudsters and said it was unacceptable that their actions could jeopardise bilateral ties.

According to Tonoyan, Tsarukyan has consistently supported closer economic, cultural, trade and political relations between Armenia and Iran and has worked to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

She further stated that the accusations against Tsarukyan are fabricated and politically motivated, despite the involvement of Iranian nationals in the case. Tonoyan claimed that unidentified individuals had used the Iranian citizens to initiate criminal proceedings against Tsarukyan in an effort to damage Armenian-Iranian relations and fuel anti-Iranian sentiment in Armenia.

She said the Iranian Embassy should be among the first institutions interested in preventing such developments.

Tsarukyan has been detained on charges of large-scale money laundering and fraud, which he rejects as politically motivated.