Prosecutors said they will appeal against the verdict handed down by a Yerevan court of first instance.
Sarkisian, who ruled Armenia from 2008-2018, was charged with giving privileged treatment in 2013 to his longtime friend and businessman Barsegh Barseghian, which allegedly cost the state over $1 million in losses. According to the prosecution, he made sure that a government tender for supplies of subsidized diesel fuel to farmers is won by Barseghian’s Flash company, rather than another fuel importer that offered a lower price.
The ex-president has said all along that the tender was fair because only Flash met the bidding specifications set by the Ministry of Agriculture. He has claimed that he as well as Beglarian were indicted as part of a political vendetta waged by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The latter came to power in 2018 while leading mass protests that forced Sarkisian to resign.
Sarkisian’s lawyer, Amram Makinian, praised the judge presiding over the marathon trial for clearing his client of any wrongdoing.
“This verdict shows that justice in Armenia is not yet completely dead and that we still have a chance to restore it,” Makinian told reporters after its announcement.
Sarkisian was more reserved, saying: “It’s not that I’m thrilled by this decision or that a different decision would have been a tragedy for me. Given the fact that the statute of limitations for such deeds has long expired, this verdict has a primarily moral significance for me.”
Sarkisian refused last year to plea the statute of limitations and thus cut short his trial, insisting on his formal acquittal. He would not have gone to prison even if he had been found guilty.
The ex-president, who will turn 70 on June 30, did not quit active politics after losing power. He continues to lead the Republican Party of Armenia, one of the two opposition groups represented in the country’s current parliament.