Vardan Ghukasyan

Vardan Kolya Ghukasyan (Armenian: Վարդան Կոլյայի Ղուկասյան; born 20 January 1961 in Leninakan, Armenian SSR), is an Armenian politician and businessman, member of the Armenian Communist Party, deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (2017–2019) and Mayor of Gyumri (formerly Leninakhan) from 2000 to 2012, and later from 16 April 2025.[1][2][3] He sparked controversy when he called for a transgender activist to be burned alive. He has been repeatedly condemned for transphobic comments.[4][5]

Arrest

Police arrested Ghukasyan on 20 October 2025 on bribery charges. The country's Anti-Corruption Committee claims it has evidence that he accepted bribes to prevent the demolition of an illegal building in the city.[6]

The ACC says Ghukasyan demanded 4 million AMD ($10,400) to let the building stand. The city's chief architect was also arrested as an accomplice in the case.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Opposition candidate elected mayor of Gyumri amid ruling party boycott". 16 April 2025.
  2. ^ "National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia | Official Web Site | parliament.am". www.parliament.am.
  3. ^ "'Gyumri — foothold of counterrevolution': opposition candidate elected mayor of Armenia's second-largest city". Jamnews in English. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  4. ^ Simonyan, Koryun (8 April 2019). "Դրանց պետք ա վառել. Վարդան Ղուկասյան" ["They need to be burned" – Vardan Ghukasyan]. Hraparak (in Armenian). Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  5. ^ Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (26 April 2019). "Armenian MPs call for trans activist to be burned alive after historic speech". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Mayor of Gyumri has been arrested for two months". arka.am.
  7. ^ "Police Arrest Gyumri Mayor for Bribery". Hetq.am. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.