After the court rejected the motion to impose a travel ban as a preventive measure against Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan, a search was conducted in the apartment of a former employee of Judge Givi Hovhannisyan’s staff, according to Factor.am, citing sources within the law enforcement system.
Although the investigation was launched in early spring 2025, it wasn’t until eight months later, after Hovhannisyan denied the Prosecutor’s Office’s request for a travel ban against Sargsyan, that law enforcement decided to execute the search.
According to the same source, the judge does not have procedural status as a defendant in the case. In fact, his name is not mentioned in the case file at all; he is only referred to as a “representative of the judiciary.” This wording was reportedly used because explicitly naming the judge could pose legal issues unless his immunity is lifted.
In two separate corruption cases against Serzh Sargsyan currently being examined in the Anti-Corruption Court, judges Givi Hovhannisyan and Aram Grigoryan previously lifted the travel ban imposed on him. However, on November 4, the Prosecutor’s Office submitted motions to both judges seeking to re-impose the travel restriction, claiming there was intelligence suggesting Sargsyan was planning to leave Armenia and not return.
On November 4 and 5, the Anti-Corruption Court reviewed and denied both motions. Judge Hovhannisyan issued the first rejection, followed by Judge Grigoryan. Following the court’s refusal, Sargsyan was summoned to the Anti-Corruption Committee, where new charges were presented, and a travel ban was re-imposed as a preventive measure.
