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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #0431/01 1701305
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191305Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9211
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000431 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM
SUBJECT:  TWO GOVERNMENT LOYALISTS JAILED FOR ELECTORAL FRAUD 
 
REFS: A)YEREVAN 429 
B)YEREVAN 395 
C)YEREVAN 390 
D)YEREVAN 388 
E)YEREVAN 382 
F)YEREVAN 372 
 
YEREVAN 00000431  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) On June 16, two pro-government loyalists were sentenced to 
three years in prison for electoral fraud during Yerevan's May 31 
municipal election.  Both of the men were found guilty of 
ballot-stuffing at a voting precinct in Yerevan's Malatia-Sebastia 
district, the site of widespread fraud on Election Day.  One of 
them, Norik Yeghiazarian, was a backer of the ruling Republican 
Party of Armenia (RPA) and a member on the electoral commission of 
the precinct where he engaged in ballot stuffing.  The other, Armen 
Ohanian, was a local resident in the district.  The opposition 
claims the convictions were contrived to placate the international 
community.  Meanwhile, President Sargsian was photographed at a June 
9 Turkey-Armenia youth soccer match with a notorious MP oligarch who 
is widely believed to be responsible for the fraud in 
Malatia-Sebastia.  Sargsian's public appearance with the notorious 
"Lfik Samo" is at odds with his recent public statements condemning 
electoral fraud.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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TWO LOYALISTS FOUND GUILTY IN 20 MINUTES 
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¶2. (U) Two loyalists of President Sargsian's Republican Party were 
found guilty on June of ballot-stuffing in the May 31 Yerevan 
municipal election.  Both of the loyalists were arrested June 2 by 
the Special Investigative Service (SIS), and charged with stuffing 
15 fake ballots marked for the RPA.  Both pleaded guilty to the 
charges at the launch of their trial, which reportedly lasted only 
20 minutes before the judge handed down the verdicts requested by 
prosecutors. 
 
¶3. (U) According to media reports, the two men are the first 
government loyalists ever go to prison for vote rigging in Armenia. 
Two other individuals were also arrested for alleged electoral 
fraud, with both having served as members of precinct electoral 
commissions.  The investigations into these two individuals are 
reportedly still underway. 
 
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JAIL TIME PROOF OF COMBATING ELECTORAL FRAUD? 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) High-level officials, including President Sargsian and 
Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian, have sought to portray the 
election-related criminal cases as proof of their commitment to 
combat electoral fraud.  PG Hovsepian also made this argument 
privately to Ambassador Yovanovitch in their June 2 meeting (ref D). 
 The opposition, however, claims that these arrests are solely 
window-dressing to placate the international community, and argues 
that those arrested so far are either scapegoats or individuals who 
agreed to jail time in exchange for money.  (COMMENT:  It is 
possible that both of the loyalists might walk free with the 
expected announcement of a prisoner amnesty by the authorities later 
today.  END COMMENT.) 
 
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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The opposition's claims were boosted by a photograph taken 
on June 9 and published in the June 10 edition of the radical 
opposition "Haykakan Zhamanak" daily.  The photo shows President 
Sargsian and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at a June 9 evening 
soccer match in Yerevan between Armenia's and Turkey's under-20 
soccer teams.  President Sargsian is flanked on his right side by 
two members of parliament who also happen to be two of Armenia's 
most notorious oligarchs.  One is Ruben Hayrapetian, aka "Nemets 
Rubo," who likely appeared at the match in his capacity as the 
chairman of Armenia's national soccer federation. The other is 
Samvel Aleksanian, aka "Lfik Samo."  Aleksanian is notorious for his 
shady business dealings and fiefdom-like control of Yerevan's 
Malatia-Sebastia district, site of the worst fraud during the recent 
election as well as in previous elections. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶6. (SBU) The arrest and conviction of two "small fish" for the fraud 
that took place on May 31 is, in principle, a positive development, 
 
YEREVAN 00000431  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
though the lightning-quick trials do raise concerns about the legal 
process that was followed.  It is, after all, the first time that 
anyone has ever faced consequences for Armenia's chronic 
vote-rigging.   However, President Sargsian's decision to appear in 
public with Aleksanian, the undisputed champion of Armenian 
electoral fraud, just two days after the June 7 announcement of the 
official results of the election, raises serious doubts about his 
professed commitment to improving Armenian elections.  At the very 
least, Sargsian showed terrible judgment about how such a 
juxtaposition would be perceived. 
 
PENNINGTON