https://owlorg.com Independent investigative platform exposing corruption in Armenia en Tue, 26 May 2026 02:07:01 +0000 Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 owl-rss-generator https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenia-azerbaijan-lobbying-washington-dc-section-907-friedlander/ OWL investigation. In Washington, D.C., Ezra Friedlander -- a lobbyist for Azerbaijan Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenia-azerbaijan-lobbying-washington-dc-section-907-friedlander/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenian-prisoners-of-war-fight-for-freedom-from-baku-accountability/ OWL investigation. A video circulating on Telegram shows Armenian soldiers blindfolded, beaten, and screaming as Azerbaijani fighters kick them -- and for Hranush Mkrtchyan, it is how she learns her husband Lyudvig, previously declared dead in combat, is alive and held in Baku. The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War left a legacy of Armenian POWs and missing persons whose families continue the fight for their return. As the Washington Declaration framework moves toward a peace treaty requiring Armenia to terminate its international-court cases against Azerbaijan, the POW accountability question stands at the center of the peace-versus-justice tension. We document the families Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenian-prisoners-of-war-fight-for-freedom-from-baku-accountability/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/cognitive-warfare-resilience-framework-armenia-2026-elections/ OWL investigation. Over the last two years, Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/cognitive-warfare-resilience-framework-armenia-2026-elections/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/pashinyan-coat-of-arms-change-republic-square-banner-no-parliamentary-vote/ OWL investigation (developing). A changed version of the Armenian state coat of arms (petakan zinanshan) has reportedly been unveiled as a giant banner/installation in Yerevan Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/pashinyan-coat-of-arms-change-republic-square-banner-no-parliamentary-vote/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/yerevan-metro-ajapnyak-station-unfinished-infrastructure-anatomy/ OWL investigation. Armenia Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/yerevan-metro-ajapnyak-station-unfinished-infrastructure-anatomy/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/aliyev-forked-tongue-policy-peace-anti-armenian-propaganda/ OWL investigation. The normalization process initiated by the US through the Washington Accords in August 2025 was a watershed for the South Caucasus, suspending Azerbaijan Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/aliyev-forked-tongue-policy-peace-anti-armenian-propaganda/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/alliance-party-urikhanyan-withdraws-electoral-race-vote-pulverization/ OWL investigation. The Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/alliance-party-urikhanyan-withdraws-electoral-race-vote-pulverization/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenia-doctrine-multi-alignment-strategic-partnerships-not-alliances-kopalyan/ OWL investigation. In the inaugural piece of EVN Report Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenia-doctrine-multi-alignment-strategic-partnerships-not-alliances-kopalyan/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenia-mining-rare-earths-geopolitics-us-china-critical-minerals/ OWL investigation. Mining has long been prominent in Armenia Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenia-mining-rare-earths-geopolitics-us-china-critical-minerals/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/catholicos-garegin-church-servants-persecuted-authorities/ OWL investigation. At an episcopal consecration ceremony at Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II declared on May 24-25, 2026: Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/catholicos-garegin-church-servants-persecuted-authorities/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/crossroads-contemporary-music-days-armenia-festival-dilijan/ OWL feature. The Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/crossroads-contemporary-music-days-armenia-festival-dilijan/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/enclave-issue-armenia-azerbaijan-border-delimitation-explainer/ OWL investigation. The issue of Armenian and Azerbaijani enclaves has re-emerged in Armenia Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/enclave-issue-armenia-azerbaijan-border-delimitation-explainer/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/healthcare-election-promises-race-2026-party-positions/ OWL investigation. Hetq Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/healthcare-election-promises-race-2026-party-positions/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/ijevan-grand-textile-sweatshop-strike-indian-migrant-workers/ OWL investigation. In Ijevan, Tavush Province, migrant workers at the Grand Textile factory have gone on strike for the second time in less than a year. The August 2025 stoppage followed reports of passport seizures and gunpoint coercion. The current strike erupted after management doubled per-shift quotas from 110 to 220 garments. Workers: 200 men, 11 hours a day, six days a week, $500/month, housed in bug-infested barracks. On May 13 local police assaulted protesting workers; nine were arrested. Owner: Russian citizen Timur Osipov. The UN IOM February 2026 report on labor migration in Armenia documented systemic exploitation: ~40 percent of migrants work informally, employers refuse to file work-permit paperwork, the regulatory environment is structurally weak. We document the substantive labor-rights failure, the broader Armenian labor-regulatory context, and what the Ijevan case signals for the post-cycle institutional environment. Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/ijevan-grand-textile-sweatshop-strike-indian-migrant-workers/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/kocharyan-pashinyan-equals-aliyev-erebuni-day-17-armenia-alliance/ OWL investigation. Second President Robert Kocharyan, leader of the Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/kocharyan-pashinyan-equals-aliyev-erebuni-day-17-armenia-alliance/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/last-bell-173-vehicles-special-zones-74-minor-drivers-police/ OWL investigation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs Police announced on May 22, 2026 that, in the operational framework of enhanced service deployed throughout the country to ensure security at Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/last-bell-173-vehicles-special-zones-74-minor-drivers-police/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/osce-odihr-interim-report-polarised-elections-environment-2026/ OWL investigation. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) interim election-observation report for the 2026 Armenian parliamentary cycle documents that the elections are taking place in a polarised environment. The principal causes cited: post-September 2023 Azerbaijan ceasefire developments, post-August 2025 Washington Declaration; agreement ratification and implementation issues; constitutional reform process; foreign-policy orientation challenges; tensions between the government and Armenian Apostolic Church leaders; criminal cases initiated against opposition representatives. The report assesses that the campaigning is active and focused on the Azerbaijan peace process, foreign policy, economy, employment, rule of law, and anti-corruption issues. We document the substantive ODIHR findings, the polarisation-cause analysis, and what the interim report signals for the post-cycle international institutional engagement with the 2026 cycle Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/osce-odihr-interim-report-polarised-elections-environment-2026/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/pashinyan-eatm-eu-dual-track-shirak-maralik-visa-liberalisation/ OWL investigation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on Day 17 of his campaign in Shirak Province on May 24-25, 2026, told citizens in Maralik: Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/pashinyan-eatm-eu-dual-track-shirak-maralik-visa-liberalisation/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/pashinyan-shirak-visit-akhalkalak-kars-update-gyumri-kars-repair/ OWL investigation. On Day 17 of his campaign on May 24-25, 2026, Prime Minister Pashinyan and the Civil Contract ruling team conducted a Shirak Province campaign visit. From Sarnaghbyur, Pashinyan announced that Armenian businesses can now use the Akhalkalak-Kars railway for goods transportation (the substantive opening covered in OWL Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/pashinyan-shirak-visit-akhalkalak-kars-update-gyumri-kars-repair/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/politics-of-silence-artsakh-memory-armenian-democracy/ OWL investigation. As Armenia Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/politics-of-silence-artsakh-memory-armenian-democracy/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/prosecutor-general-electoral-violations-hotline-june-7/ OWL investigation. The Prosecutor General Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/prosecutor-general-electoral-violations-hotline-june-7/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-wont-pay-eu-travel-kristine-vardanyan-armenia-alliance/ OWL investigation. Kristine Vardanyan, MP of the Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-wont-pay-eu-travel-kristine-vardanyan-armenia-alliance/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/samvel-karapetyan-house-arrest-kotayk-critique-prosecutions/ OWL investigation. Strong Armenia alliance leader, billionaire businessman Samvel Karapetyan, currently under house arrest in connection with the criminal case against him, met Kotayk Province residents and -- without naming names -- criticised the country Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/samvel-karapetyan-house-arrest-kotayk-critique-prosecutions/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/tsarukyan-pm-candidate-hint-tevanyan-defense-etchmiadzin/ OWL investigation. BHK alliance leader Gagik Tsarukyan continued to withhold the BHK Prime Minister candidate identity on Day 17 of the campaign at his Etchmiadzin campaign stop on May 24-25, 2026. Asked about the PM candidate: Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/tsarukyan-pm-candidate-hint-tevanyan-defense-etchmiadzin/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/us-iran-hormuz-strait-preliminary-agreement-armenia-trip-context/ OWL investigation. The United States and Iran have reached a preliminary agreement on gradually ending the Middle East war and lifting Iran Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/us-iran-hormuz-strait-preliminary-agreement-armenia-trip-context/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/yerevan-air-crisis-pollution-emergency-pm25-construction-quarrying/ OWL investigation. Yerevan Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/yerevan-air-crisis-pollution-emergency-pm25-construction-quarrying/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/yerevan-planned-power-outages-may-25-five-districts-russian-embassy/ OWL investigation. Armenia Electric Networks CJSC announced on May 24, 2026 that electricity supply will be temporarily disconnected on May 25 for planned repair works across five Yerevan administrative districts: Center, Arabkir, Kanaker-Zeytun, Nork-Marash, Achapnyak. Notable affected institutions include the Embassy of the Russian Federation building (Nork-Marash, 11:00-17:00), multiple banks (Converse, ArmSwiss, in Center), Erebuni Hotel, Veolia Water CJSC headquarters, the Armenian Health Agency building, and various schools and kindergartens. The notice operates within the standard utility-maintenance public-communication framework. We document the affected addresses, the institutional implications, and the broader utility-infrastructure-maintenance context. Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/yerevan-planned-power-outages-may-25-five-districts-russian-embassy/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/akhalkalak-kars-railway-open-armenia-trade-pashinyan/ OWL investigation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on his Facebook page on May 24, 2026 that the Akhalkalak-Kars railway -- like the Azerbaijani railway -- is now open for exports from Armenia and imports to Armenia. The announcement is the first material economic-development result of the August 2025 Washington Declaration Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/akhalkalak-kars-railway-open-armenia-trade-pashinyan/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenian-airlines-boeing-737-800-first-aircraft-yerevan/ OWL investigation. Hetq Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/armenian-airlines-boeing-737-800-first-aircraft-yerevan/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/biodiversity-day-sevan-trout-120000-release-environment-ministry/ OWL investigation. On International Biodiversity Day, May 22, 2026, the Environment Ministry of the Republic of Armenia released approximately 120,000 Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan) fingerlings into Lake Sevan as part of the ongoing programme to restore the lake Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/biodiversity-day-sevan-trout-120000-release-environment-ministry/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/civil-contract-rally-avan-pashinyan-avinyan-cookies/ OWL investigation. Hetq Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/civil-contract-rally-avan-pashinyan-avinyan-cookies/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/im-against-everyone-barrel-rolling-action-3-million-prime-ministers/ OWL investigation. The Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/im-against-everyone-barrel-rolling-action-3-million-prime-ministers/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/martun-grigoryan-gyumri-bhk-anti-corruption-searches/ OWL investigation. Martun Grigoryan, BHK alliance MP candidate and current Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/martun-grigoryan-gyumri-bhk-anti-corruption-searches/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/rubinyan-france-ambassador-decottignies-may-22/ OWL investigation. Deputy National Assembly Speaker Ruben Rubinyan met with French Ambassador Olivier Decottignies at the National Assembly on May 22, 2026. The conversation covered possibilities for expanding Armenia-France relations, cooperation prospects in multiple sectors, and regional developments. The meeting falls within the post-2024 Armenia-France strategic-partnership intensification that has produced the Macron State Visit (May 5, OWL Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/rubinyan-france-ambassador-decottignies-may-22/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/rubinyan-us-charge-daffaires-david-allen-may-22/ OWL investigation. Deputy National Assembly Speaker Ruben Rubinyan met with US Chargé d Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/rubinyan-us-charge-daffaires-david-allen-may-22/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-rosselkhoznadzor-vegetables-fruits-restrictions-dankvert/ OWL investigation. Rosselkhoznadzor (Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) chief Sergey Dankvert announced on Russian state broadcaster Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-rosselkhoznadzor-vegetables-fruits-restrictions-dankvert/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/strong-armenia-investor-strategy-300k-unworking-farsyan/ OWL investigation. Hetq Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/strong-armenia-investor-strategy-300k-unworking-farsyan/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/401m-drams-regional-urgent-programs-six-provinces/ OWL investigation. The Armenian Government on May 21, 2026 allocated 401,236,300 drams to six provincial governors for the implementation of urgent programs. Province breakdown: Armavir 209M drams (52 percent), Tavush 78.5M, Gegharkunik 73.5M, Syunik 35.5M, Kotayk 3.2M, Lori 1.5M. Specific projects include storm-drain reconstruction in Parakar, decentralized wastewater treatment in Martuni, emergency-building residents compensation in Chambarak, EV charging station for Lori governor Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/401m-drams-regional-urgent-programs-six-provinces/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/anpp-us-smr-reactors-replacement-assessment/ OWL investigation. The US Embassy in Armenia announced on May 22, 2026 that experts from Sargent & Lundy completed a preliminary techno-economic feasibility assessment for replacing the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) with American small modular reactor (SMR) technologies during a May 19-22 visit. The assessment was carried out under the US State Department Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/anpp-us-smr-reactors-replacement-assessment/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/arshakyan-cis-trilateral-tripp-washington-declaration/ OWL investigation. Deputy National Assembly Speaker Hakob Arshakyan, at the 60th plenary session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in Saint Petersburg on May 22, 2026, addressed the regional-peace and transport-unblocking dimensions of the post-2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement. Substantive content: the August 8, 2025 Washington Declaration (signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan with US Presidential participation) confirmed UN Charter and Alma-Ata Declaration principles; Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/arshakyan-cis-trilateral-tripp-washington-declaration/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/cc-candidates-wealth-vahagn-arsenyan-billion-dram/ OWL investigation. Hetq Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/cc-candidates-wealth-vahagn-arsenyan-billion-dram/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/civil-contract-corruption-after-wild-animals/ OWL investigation. Hetq Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/civil-contract-corruption-after-wild-animals/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/fact-check-pashinyan-campaign-financing-pension-cuts-false/ OWL investigation. Milena Gevorgyan Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/fact-check-pashinyan-campaign-financing-pension-cuts-false/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/matenadaran-manuscript-restoration-1785-chashotsi/ OWL feature. A May 23, 2026 Hetq piece documents the work of the restoration department at the Matenadaran (Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts) in Yerevan, where books spanning multiple centuries are returned to readable form. The pipeline: from storage to biochemical laboratory (sampling for fungi and bacteria), to dust-removal-and-disinfection room (fine brushes plus plant-based vapour cleaning using recipes drawn from ancient medical texts), to the restorer Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/matenadaran-manuscript-restoration-1785-chashotsi/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/osce-pa-100-observers-armenia-elections/ OWL investigation. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly election observation delegation, led by Head of Mission Jevrosima Pejovic, visited Armenia Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/osce-pa-100-observers-armenia-elections/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/political-cv-19-forces-elections-2026/ OWL investigation. Armen Ghazaryan and Nare Petrosyan Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/political-cv-19-forces-elections-2026/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-flowers-import-restriction-rosselkhoznadzor/ OWL investigation. Russia Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-flowers-import-restriction-rosselkhoznadzor/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-wine-brandy-gas-jermuk-water-escalation-may-23/ OWL investigation. Russia Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/russia-wine-brandy-gas-jermuk-water-escalation-may-23/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/tevanyan-two-month-pretrial-detention-may-23/ OWL investigation. Andranik Tevanyan, the number-two candidate on the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) alliance list for the June 7 parliamentary elections, has been placed in two-month pre-trial detention by court order on May 23, 2026 -- one day after the Central Electoral Commission granted the prosecutorial petition to lift his candidacy immunity. The court applied the detention as a preventive measure on the basis of an Investigation Committee petition. The criminal case opened May 21 under Criminal Code Article 418 (state treason) and Article 424 (espionage) alleges he transferred Russian-translated materials from a closed April 2024 National Assembly secret session to a representative of the Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/tevanyan-two-month-pretrial-detention-may-23/ https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/unity-wings-wealth-declarations-tatoyan-ananyan/ OWL investigation. Hetq Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlorg.com/en/investigations/unity-wings-wealth-declarations-tatoyan-ananyan/