NSS detains Andranik Tevanyan, Mother Armenia party leader 

ArmInfo.Armenian law enforcement authorities have detained Andranik Tevanyan, the leader of the "Mother Armenia" party and the second candidate on the  electoral list of the "Prosperous Armenia" party. The detention was reported by "Mother Armenia" party member Derenik Malkhasyan via his Facebook page, where he shared footage of the incident. The video shows masked officers from the National Security Service (NSS) handcuffing Tevanyan and driving him away.

Before the arrest, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) approved  two petitions from the Prosecutor General's Office to initiate  criminal proceedings against Tevanyan and to deprive him of his  liberty.  Candidates for the National Assembly of the Republic of  Armenia typically have legal immunity during election periods.

Following the CEC's decision, the Prosecutor General's Office of  Armenia initiated a criminal case against Tevanyan under Part 1 of  Article 418 of the Criminal Code (High Treason). A hearing is  expected to take place today at 12:00 PM at the Court of General  Jurisdiction of the Avan and Nor Nork districts in Yerevan to review  the prosecution's motion to place the "Mother Armenia" leader in  pre-trial detention.  According to investigators, while serving as a  member of parliament, Andranik Tevanyan allegedly collaborated with  the director of the "Russia-Caucasus" geopolitical center, who has  been identified as a representative of foreign intelligence services.  Under the latter's instructions, Tevanyan allegedly engaged in  espionage and transmitted classified state secrets.

Under the latter's orders, Tevanyan engaged in espionage and  transmitted information containing state secrets. This alleged  incident concerns a closed session of the National Assembly in April  2024, which discussed the delimitation and demarcation of the borders  between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the case materials,  Tevanyan passed on information about the progress and outcomes of a  closed-door session in exchange a particularly large sum of $622,000.

Tevanyan denies the allegations, arguing that it was physically  impossible for him to pass on information from the closed 2024  parliamentary hearings, given that he had already resigned his  parliamentary seat in 2023 to run in the Yerevan City Council  elections.