Armenian Foreign Ministry employee acquitted of treason

ArmInfo. The Yerevan Criminal Court of First Instance has acquitted Ashkhen Aleksanyan, an employee of the RA Foreign Ministry, accused of espionage, as reported by lawyer Abgar Poghosyan on social media. The court's decision will be appealed by the Prosecutor General's Office.

"The Yerevan Criminal Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction  (Chairman: Ani Danielyan) issued a verdict in the case of Ashkhen  Aleksanyan, RA Foreign Ministry employee. She was acquitted of the  charge of treason under Article 418 of the RA Criminal Code  (imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years or life imprisonment),  i.e., treason. According to the Court, her actions fell under Part 1  of Article 441 of the RA Criminal Code (a maximum imprisonment of up  to 4 years)," the lawyer wrote. According to him, the defense will  appeal the verdict to the Criminal Court of Appeals.

"The court's decision in Ashkhen Aleksanyan's case will be appealed  to a higher court," the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia told  ArmInfo.

Recall, in August 2025, it was reported that Ashkhen Aleksanyan, an  employee of the consular service of the Embassy of the Republic of  Armenia in Austria, was detained at Zvartnots Airport. "Based on a  report received on June 20 from the National Security Service of the  Republic of Armenia, the Main Department for the Investigation of  Crimes against State Authority, Constitutional Order, and Public  Security, the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia  opened a criminal case under Article 418 Part 1  and Article 424 Part  1  of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, for high treason  committed by an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the  Republic of Armenia through espionage, creating conditions for a  foreign representative to become familiar with information containing  state secrets, and assisting in hostile activities," the  Investigative Committee said in a statement.

At the same time, there were rumors  circulated online that  Aleksanyan had had sexual relations with an Azerbaijani citizen. It  was alleged that this was how enemy intelligence agencies were able  to coerce Ashkhen into working for them.