The legal qualification of the actions of former Foreign Ministry employee Ashkhen Aleksanyan, previously acquitted on treason charges, has been changed, and a guilty verdict has been issued, Judicial Council spokesperson Tsolinar Khachatryan said on Facebook.
She noted that the hearing was held behind closed doors and that Aleksanyan remains in custody.
On March 27, 2026, the Yerevan Court of First Instance, during a closed hearing, examined the criminal case against Ashkhen Aleksanyan under Article 418(1) of Armenia’s Criminal Code (high treason) and issued a guilty verdict.
The court found that her guilt was proven not under the treason article, but under Article 441(1) of the Criminal Code — abuse of official authority or exceeding official powers.
According to Article 441(1):
“Use by an official of their authority or influence against state or service interests, failure to perform or improper performance of official duties, or actions beyond their authority causing substantial harm to the rights and lawful interests of individuals, organizations, society, or the state,
is punishable by a fine of 20 to 40 times the minimum amount, disqualification from holding certain positions or activities for three to seven years, restriction of liberty for one to three years, short-term imprisonment of one to two months, or imprisonment for one to four years.”
Thus, the court concluded that the act attributed to Aleksanyan corresponds not to high treason, but to abuse or excess of official authority.
Following the guilty verdict, the preventive measure applied to Aleksanyan — detention — has been left unchanged.
Earlier, Aleksanyan had been acquitted of high treason charges, her lawyer Abgar Poghosyan said, adding that the prosecution would file an appeal. Criminal proceedings were initiated in the summer of 2025 based on a report from Armenia’s National Security Service, under articles related to treason and espionage.
