Armenian Court Orders Removal of Undesirable Status for Mourad Papazian and Masis Abrahamyan

ARF Bureau member Mourad Franck Papazian and Masis Abrahamyan, head of the ARF Dutch Armenian Affairs Office, are set to be removed from the list of persons considered undesirable in Armenia. The decision comes following the resolution of lawsuits filed by both individuals against the RA National Security Service.

Christine Vardanyan, deputy of the RA National Assembly faction "Armenia," shared the news on her Facebook page, announcing that the RA Administrative Court has ruled in favor of Papazian and Abrahamyan. The court has obligated the National Security Service to erase their data from the list of foreigners considered undesirable within the Republic of Armenia.

Vardanyan emphasized the significance of the court's decision, stating, "Today, the RA Administrative Court satisfied the lawsuits of ARF Bureau member, Co-Chairman of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) Mourad Papazian, and Masis Abrahamyan, the head of the ARF Dutch Armenian Affairs Office, against the RA National Security Service."

Given the wide public interest in the case, Vardanyan mentioned that additional details would be provided during a press conference scheduled for January 25. The conference will feature insights from the lawyers involved in the case, including Siranuysh Sahakyan, Ruben Melikyan, and MP Artsvik Minasyan.

This legal development follows the recognition, in January 2023, of Nzhdeh Garagavoryan, chairman of the Central Department of the French "ARF New Generation" youth union, as an undesirable person for Armenia. Months prior, several ARF leaders, including Mourad Franck Papazian and Masis Abrahamyan, were similarly designated as undesirable persons for Armenia.

The court's decision to remove Papazian and Abrahamyan from the undesirable list marks a significant turn in their legal status within Armenia, and the upcoming press conference is anticipated to shed further light on the intricacies of the case.