RESULTS OF PG'S TIP INVESTIGATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001715 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, G/TIP, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2016 TAGS: HSTC PHUM PREL PGOV KCRM KWMN SMIG AM SUBJECT: RESULTS OF PG'S TIP INVESTIGATION REF: A) YEREVAN 1667 B)YEREVAN 1597 C) YEREVAN 1565 D) YEREVAN 1548 E) YEREVAN 1524 F) YEREVAN 1101 G) YEREVAN 1091 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Anthony Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d) . -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Although we believe the Prosecutor General's (PG) Office's internal probe into allegations of investigatorial misconduct was less than thorough, we were pleased to learn December 11 that the PG's order to restructure his Anti-TIP Unit includes the reduction in status and transfer of the accused investigators to other units. This is good news. While not an ideal resolution to the problem, we believe the order represents a face-saving measure and is more than we had hoped for when we began pushing the issue with the GOAM (reftels). END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- WRITTEN INVESTIGATION RESULTS REVEAL LACK OF DEPTH -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Most troublesome in the investigation results is the apparent lack of follow-up on the part of the internal investigation commission to determine the circumstances surrounding the alleged trafficking victims' retractions of their statements against investigators Aristakes Yeremyan and Armen Gasparyan. In a statement to the Hope and Help NGO (which was witnessed by Poloff),one of the prostitutes had accused Yeremyan of slapping her. The commission's written conclusion says that prostitute retracted her testimony, and leads the reader to believe that the retraction occurred during her only discussion with the commission. However, in his rebuttal, commission observer and investigative journalist Edik Baghdasarian noted that the prostitute met with the commission twice. He said that, during her first meeting with the commission, she reiterated the accusation she had made to the NGO. According to Baghdasarian, the prostitute then had another meeting with Yeremyan (who was still investigating the original criminal case),after which she met with the commission a second time, and retracted the accusation. (NOTE: Baghdasarian's credibility with respect to the PG's office was called into question earlier this year, when he published allegations in a high-profile series alleging corruption in that office, and refused all entreaties -- including ours -- to produce the evidence he claimed to have. That said, the other observer on the internal investigation commission, who is known to be sympathetic to the government, did not dispute the prostitute's accusation in her appended response. END NOTE.) -------------- PG SHAKES THINGS UP -------------- ¶3. (C) The PG issued a December 8 order that would transfer both Yeremyan and Gasparyan out of the Anti-TIP Unit. Yeremyan will move to a position within the main PG's office, with a bump down in rank from "senior investigator" to "investigator," and Gasparyan will be assigned to a regional office. The order would transfer two other investigators from other departments into the Anti-TIP Unit, and promote a third from a lower position within it. In addition, our best source in the unit, Armen Boshnaghyan (strictly protect) will move to an equally senior position in the PG's Anti-Corruption Unit. ¶4. (C) The restructuring also calls for special training courses for investigators on anti-TIP topics, including the protection of victims' rights. It also tasks senior officials in the PG's investigation and prosecutorial departments to ensure the protection of victims' rights, using psychologists when necessary. The order tasks the PG's public relations unit with engaging society and NGOs in the fight against trafficking and reintegration of trafficking victims, and to support NGOs and the media in their anti-trafficking activities. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Though the transfer of Yeremyan and Gasparyan is not the ideal resolution to the situation, we believe it YEREVAN 00001715 002 OF 002 represents a very positive step by the PG, who appears to be acknowledging a problem and dealing with it in a way that allows him to save face. The other mandates in his restructuring order are also encouraging, particularly the level of attention paid to victims' rights. Given the PG's previous uncooperative behavior in August (ref G),his recent actions (ref A) suggest that he has finally received the message that we had spent weeks pounding home to a number of GOAM interlocutors. GODFREY