Armenia moves to extradite former prosecutor general from Russia

Armenia announced plans to request the extradition of former Prosecutor General Gevork Kostanyan from Russia, current Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan, stated during parliamentary hearings.

In addition, Yerevan intends to seek the extradition of Vahagn Harutyunyan, former head of the investigative group probing the March 1, 2008, events, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

Both former officials are facing charges of abuse of office, evidence falsification, and obstruction of justice related to the March 1 case. Armenian authorities say that both Kostanyan and Arutyunyan are currently in Russia, Vardapetyan confirmed.

“We are engaging with Russia under a multilateral framework—the Chisinau Convention—but so far, the Russian side has not agreed to the extradition. The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia will soon resubmit a formal request, asking Russia to reconsider its earlier rejection,” Vardapetyan added.

The charges stem from post-election unrest in 2008, when opposition forces led by Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, organized protests against the presidential election results. Demonstrations on March 1–2 escalated into widespread unrest in Yerevan, resulting in the deaths of 10 people.

Armenian authorities emphasized that pursuing the extradition is part of ongoing efforts to hold former officials accountable for abuses of power and ensure justice for the victims of the 2008 unrest.

By Vafa Guliyeva