YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Court of Appeals on Criminal Affairs will examine on September 3 the formal objection by The Civilitas Foundation’s founder and former FM and currently Prosperous Armenia Party MP Vartan Oskanian, who is a witness in the criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering, which the National Security Service (NSS) has launched against the Foundation.

Thursday’s Court session was adjourned due to Oskanian’s representative Tigran Atanesyan’s absence from the Court room, Pastinfo News Agency reports. 

To note, Oskanian’s representative demands that the aforesaid lawsuit be dismissed because, as per Atanesyan, Oskanian’s rights were violated by the launching of this criminal case.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, on May 25 the NSS Department of Investigation launched a criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering with respect to The Civilitas Foundation, and Vartan Oskanian was mentioned in this connection.

And, in this regard, Oskanian had written the following in his Facebook account:

“It was apparent from the content of NSS’ statement issued that I am being questioned as a suspect and not as a witness along the lines of the criminal lawsuit that is launched. Considering this, I decided to use my constitutional right and not to testify.”

Also, he had stated that this is political persecution.