Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 12522 / 251,287

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02 2011/03 2011/04 2011/05
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
2010/12/01 2010/12/02 2010/12/03 2010/12/04 2010/12/05 2010/12/06 2010/12/07 2010/12/08 2010/12/09 2010/12/10 2010/12/11 2010/12/12 2010/12/13 2010/12/14 2010/12/15 2010/12/16 2010/12/17 2010/12/18 2010/12/19 2010/12/20 2010/12/21 2010/12/22 2010/12/23 2010/12/24 2010/12/25 2010/12/26 2010/12/27 2010/12/28 2010/12/29 2010/12/30
2011/01/01 2011/01/02 2011/01/04 2011/01/05 2011/01/07 2011/01/09 2011/01/10 2011/01/11 2011/01/12 2011/01/13 2011/01/14 2011/01/15 2011/01/16 2011/01/17 2011/01/18 2011/01/19 2011/01/20 2011/01/21 2011/01/22 2011/01/23 2011/01/24 2011/01/25 2011/01/26 2011/01/27 2011/01/28 2011/01/29 2011/01/30 2011/01/31
2011/02/01 2011/02/02 2011/02/03 2011/02/04 2011/02/05 2011/02/06 2011/02/07 2011/02/08 2011/02/09 2011/02/10 2011/02/11 2011/02/12 2011/02/13 2011/02/14 2011/02/15 2011/02/16 2011/02/17 2011/02/18 2011/02/19 2011/02/20 2011/02/21 2011/02/22 2011/02/23 2011/02/24 2011/02/25 2011/02/26 2011/02/27 2011/02/28
2011/03/01 2011/03/02 2011/03/03 2011/03/04 2011/03/05 2011/03/06 2011/03/07 2011/03/08 2011/03/09 2011/03/10 2011/03/11 2011/03/13 2011/03/14 2011/03/15 2011/03/16 2011/03/17 2011/03/18 2011/03/19 2011/03/20 2011/03/21 2011/03/22 2011/03/23 2011/03/24 2011/03/25 2011/03/26 2011/03/27 2011/03/28 2011/03/29 2011/03/30 2011/03/31
2011/04/01 2011/04/02 2011/04/03 2011/04/04 2011/04/05 2011/04/06 2011/04/07 2011/04/08 2011/04/09 2011/04/10 2011/04/11 2011/04/12 2011/04/13 2011/04/14 2011/04/15 2011/04/16 2011/04/17 2011/04/18 2011/04/19 2011/04/20 2011/04/21 2011/04/22 2011/04/23 2011/04/24 2011/04/25 2011/04/26 2011/04/27 2011/04/28 2011/04/29 2011/04/30
2011/05/01 2011/05/02 2011/05/03 2011/05/04 2011/05/05 2011/05/06 2011/05/07 2011/05/08 2011/05/09 2011/05/10

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 96 97 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1985/03 1985/06
1986/05
1987/06
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08 1990/10
1991/05
1992/01 1992/06 1992/12
1993/10
1996/11
1997/12
2000/05 2000/06 2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/06 2001/07 2001/09 2001/10 2001/11
2002/01 2002/02 2002/03 2002/04 2002/07 2002/08 2002/09 2002/11
2003/01 2003/02 2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Apia Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Auckland Consulate Amsterdam Consulate Adana American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura Embassy Buenos Aires Embassy Budapest Embassy Bucharest Embassy Brussels Embassy Bridgetown Embassy Bratislava Embassy Brasilia Embassy Bogota Embassy Bishkek Embassy Bern Embassy Berlin Embassy Belmopan Embassy Belgrade Embassy Beirut Embassy Beijing Embassy Banjul Embassy Bangkok Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan Embassy Bamako Embassy Baku Embassy Baghdad Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen Embassy Conakry Embassy Colombo Embassy Chisinau Embassy Caracas Embassy Canberra Embassy Cairo Consulate Curacao Consulate Ciudad Juarez Consulate Chennai Consulate Casablanca Consulate Cape Town Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dili Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown Consulate Fukuoka
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone Consulate Guayaquil Consulate Guadalajara
Embassy Helsinki Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Ho Chi Minh City Consulate Hermosillo Consulate Hamilton Consulate Hamburg Consulate Halifax
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kingston Embassy Kigali Embassy Khartoum Embassy Kathmandu Embassy Kampala Embassy Kabul Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg Embassy Luanda Embassy London Embassy Ljubljana Embassy Lisbon Embassy Lima Embassy Lilongwe Embassy La Paz Consulate Lahore Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE Mission USNATO Mission UNESCO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Mbabane Embassy Maputo Embassy Manila Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Malabo Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Mumbai Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey Consulate Milan Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia Embassy Niamey Embassy New Delhi Embassy Ndjamena Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples Consulate Naha
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Of Spain Embassy Port Louis Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito Consulate Quebec
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Suva Embassy Stockholm Embassy Sofia Embassy Skopje Embassy Singapore Embassy Seoul Embassy Sarajevo Embassy Santo Domingo Embassy Santiago Embassy Sanaa Embassy San Salvador Embassy San Jose Consulate Strasbourg Consulate St Petersburg Consulate Shenyang Consulate Shanghai Consulate Sapporo Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis Embassy Tripoli Embassy Tokyo Embassy The Hague Embassy Tel Aviv Embassy Tehran Embassy Tegucigalpa Embassy Tbilisi Embassy Tashkent Embassy Tallinn Consulate Toronto Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Office Almaty US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Embassy Valletta Consulate Vladivostok Consulate Vancouver
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AR AORC AF ASEC APER AS AMED AE AEMR AFIN AG AMGT APECO AU AJ AA ADM AGAO ABLD AL ASUP AID AADP ACOA ANET AY ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG ARF ATRN APEC ASEAN AMBASSADOR AO ACS AM AZ ACABQ AGMT ABUD APCS AINF AORL AFFAIRS AFSI AFSN ACBAQ AFGHANISTAN ADANA AMCHAMS AIT ADPM AX ADCO AECL AMEX ACAO AODE ASCH AORG AGR AROC ASIG AND ARM AQ ATFN AC AUC ASEX AER AVERY AGRICULTURE AMG AFU AN ALOW
BR BO BM BA BK BU BB BL BY BF BEXP BTIO BD BE BH BG BRUSSELS BP BIDEN BT BC BX BILAT BN BBSR BTIU BWC BMGT
CASC CJAN CA CU CO CS CE CVIS CPAS CDG CI CH CBW CWC CMGT CD CM CDC CIA CG CNARC CN CONS CW CLINTON COE CT CIDA CR COUNTER CTR CSW CONDOLEEZZA CARICOM CB CY CL COM CICTE CFED COUNTRY CIS CROS CJUS CBSA CEUDA CLMT CAC CODEL COPUOS CIC CBE CHR CTM CVR CF COUNTERTERRORISM CITEL CLEARANCE CACS CAN CITT CARSON CACM CDB CV CAPC CKGR CBC
DR DEA DJ DA DHS DAO DCM DTRA DOD DOMESTIC DO DK DISENGAGEMENT DPRK DEPT DOE DS DE DEFENSE DEAX
ECON ELAB ETRD EINV EPET EAIR EIND ETTC EUR EUN ENRG EK EG ECPS EFIN EC EAID EUMEM EWWT ECIN ELTN EFIS EAGR EU EMIN ET ER ENIV ES EINT EZ EI EPA ERNG ENGR ENGY EXTERNAL ENERG EUREM ELN ENNP EFINECONCS ENVR ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS ELECTIONS ECA ETC EFTA EINVEFIN EN ECINECONCS EEPET ERD ENVI ETRC EXIM EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS ETRO EDU ETRN EAIG ECONCS ECONOMICS EAP ECONOMY ESA EINN ECONOMIC EIAR EXBS ECUN EINDETRD EREL EUC ESENV ECONEFIN ECIP EFIM EAIDS ETRDECONWTOCS EUNCH EINVETC EINVECONSENVCSJA ETRA
FR FI FDA FTAA FJ FBI FAC FARC FAO FTA FREEDOM FISO FOR FM FOREIGN FOI FAS FINR FINANCE FMLN FO
GG GM GV GR GAERC GA GE GOI GT GOV GH GTMO GY GANGS GAZA GERARD GL GF GCC GZ GTIP GLOBAL
HURI HR HEBRON HK HO HA HILLARY HSTC HU HUMAN HI HYMPSK HUMOR
IC IT IR IN ICAO IS ID ICRC IZ IAEA IMO IL IQ IRS INRA INRO IV ICJ IBRD IEFIN IACI INTELSAT IO ILC ICTY ITRA IDA ITU IRAQI ILO ITALY IIP INRB IRC IMF IAHRC IA IWC IPR ISRAELI INMARSAT INTERPOL INTERNAL ISLAMISTS INDO ITPHUM ITPGOV ITALIAN IBET INR IEA IZPREL IRAJ ITF IF ISRAEL ICTR IDP IGAD
JA JO JM JOHN JOSEPH JP JUS JAMES JOHNNIE
KDEM KCOR KCRM KMDR KPAO KWMN KNEI KNNP KJUS KISL KOMC KSUM KGHG KCRS KMCA KPKO KHLS KSCA KICC KIRF KPAL KWBG KN KIPR KPOA KV KDRG KBIO KTFN KBTR KFRD KCFE KE KPLS KSTC KTIP KTIA KS KHDP KHIV KCIP KTDB KZ KGIC KOLY KSEO KRVC KFLO KVPR KIRC KU KAWC KPRP KSEP KFLU KTER KBCT KSCI KUNR KRIM KWAC KG KMPI KOMS KSPR KFIN KCRCM KR KBTS KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KREC KLIG KSAF KACT KCOM KAID KPWR KNPP KDEMAF KSTH KOCI KNUP KIDE KPRV KWMM KX KMIG KAWK KRCM KVRP KPAONZ KNUC KNAR KRAD KNNPMNUC KERG KTBT KCFC KVIR KTEX KGIT KPAI KTLA KFSC KCSY KSAC KTRD KID KMRS KOM KMOC KJUST KGCC KREL KMFO KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KFTFN KO KNSD KHUM KSEC KCMR KCHG KICA KPIN KESS KDEV KCGC KWWMN KPAK KWNM KWMNCS KRFD KDDG KIFR KHSA KRGY
LY LG LH LE LO LI LTTE LU LA LAB LOG LT LABOR
MARR MASS MCAP MOPS MT MNUC MX MO MAR MTCRE MASSMNUC MARAD ML MY MAPP MEPN MD MZ MRCRE MI MA MAS MU MR MC MTCR MEETINGS MK MCC MG MIL MASC MV MIK MP MUCN MEDIA MPOS MERCOSUR MW MOPPS MTS MLS MILI MTRE MEPI MQADHAFI MAPS MEPP MILITARY MDC
NO NATO NZ NL NPT NI NU NSF NA NP NPG NSG NSFO NS NSC NE NK NPA NG NSSP NATIONAL NDP NASA NGO NR NIPP NAFTA NRR NEW NH NZUS NC NT NAR NV NORAD NATOPREL NW
OPRC OSCE OIIP OTRA OEXC OVIP OREP OPCW OPIC OECD OPDC OFDP OSCI OMIG ODIP OPAD OAS OVP OIE OFDA OCS OHUM OFFICIALS OBSP OTR OSAC ON OCII OES OIC
PGOV PREL PTER PK PHUM PINS PINR PL PREF PARM PM PBTS PO PE PEL PHSA PA PAO PBIO PAS POL PNAT PAK PSI PU PARMS POLITICS PHUMBA PROP PAIGH POLITICAL PARTIES POSTS PREO PMIL POGOV POV PNR PRL PG PINL PRGOV PALESTINIAN PAHO PROG PREFA PORG PTBS PUNE POLICY PDOV PCI PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PBT PP PS PY PTERE PGOF PKFK PSOE PEPR PPA PINT PMAR PRELP PSEPC PGOVE PINF PNG PGOC PFOR PCUL PLN POLINT PGGV PHALANAGE PARTY PGOVLO PHUS PDEM PECON PROV PHUMPREL PGIV PRAM PHUH PSA PHUMPGOV PF
QA
RS RU RP RW RO ROOD RSO RICE RM RUPREL RCMP REACTION REPORT REGION RIGHTS RF RFE RSP RIGHTSPOLMIL ROBERT RELATIONS
SOCI SCUL SW SZ SP SNAR SENV SY SR SMIG SU SF SO SA SARS SL SN SH SYR SC SG SNARN SEVN SCRS SAARC SI SHI SENVKGHG SHUM SPCE SYRIA SWE STEINBERG SIPRS ST SNARIZ SSA SK SPCVIS SOFA SIPDIS SAN SANC SEN SNARCS
TRGY TU TBIO TPHY TX TNGD TH TSPL TS TSPA TW TIP TZ TF TR TP TO TT TFIN TI TERRORISM TN THPY TD TL TV TC TINT TK TRSY TURKEY TBID TAGS
UK UNGA UP UN UNSC UNICEF UNESCO UY UNEP UV UNPUOS USTR US UNHRC UNAUS UZ UNMIK UNCSD USUN UNCHR UNDC UNHCR USNC UNO UG USEU USOAS UE UNDP UNC USPS USAID UNVIE UAE UNFICYP UNODC UNCHS UNIDROIT UNDESCO UNCHC UNCND
VE VC VT VZ VM VTIZ VTEG VN VTPREL VI VAT
WHTI WHO WBG WTRO WI WIPO WTO WHA WITH WS WTRQ WZ WFP WWARD WB WMO WEU WMD WA
XZ XV XF XA XW XQ XY XM XL XG XT XR XK XTAG XS XB XE XU XC XX XD XH XI
YM YI YE YMCS
ZB ZI ZP ZR ZO ZL ZF ZU ZJ ZEALAND ZK ZN ZA ZOELLICK ZANU

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page Contact us on IRC

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 06YEREVAN1091, AMBASSADOR PUSHES PROSECUTOR GENERAL ON TRAFFICKING CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06YEREVAN1091.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06YEREVAN1091 | 2006-08-09 13:15 | 2011-02-18 00:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Yerevan
Appears in these articles: http://rusrep.ru/article/2011/02/07/trafficking/

`

    VZCZCXRO5276
    RR RUEHDBU
    DE RUEHYE #1091/01 2211315
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 091315Z AUG 06
    FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3693
    INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
    RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1089
    RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0040
    RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0485
    RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0050

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001091

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL AND EUR/CARC

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2016
    TAGS: KTIP KWMN KCRM PREL PGOV PHUM HSTC AM TU
    SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR PUSHES PROSECUTOR GENERAL ON TRAFFICKING CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS

    REF: A) YEREVAN 484 B) YEREVAN 836 C) YEREVAN 840 YEREVAN 00001091 001.2 OF 003

    Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

    SUMMARY

    ¶1. (C) Ambassador, DCM and Poloff met with Armenian Prosecutor General (PG) Aghvan Hovsepyan August 8 about allegations of investigative misconduct and abuse in connection with a human trafficking case. The underlying case involves three prostitutes who allege they were trafficked from Armenia to Turkey via Georgia with fraudulent documents, and coerced and deprived of payment under threat of arrest. Hovsepyan began by saying he was familiar with the case and rejecting the allegations out of hand; however, he eventually committed to investigating the allegations. The PG first defamed the victims, and volunteered that he had asked the National Security Service (NSS) to investigate the NGO that had aided them. After a long discussion, he came around to a more responsive approach. End Summary.

    PROSTITUTES ALLEGE CORRUPTION IN PG'S OFFICE

    ¶2. (C) On July 28, three alleged trafficking victims from Gyumri, Armenia's second-largest city, were interviewed by investigators from the PG's office. After their interview, they stormed fuming into the Yerevan branch of "Hope and Help," an NGO that assists prostitutes and trafficking victims, to complain about the conduct of investigators Armen Gasparyan and Aristakes Yeremyan. (COMMENT: Yeremyan has been accused of complicity with traffickers before (ref A). The PG's office opened what we believe was a cursory investigation into those allegations in February. END COMMENT.)

    ¶3. (SBU) We met the women at the Hope and Help office, and spoke at length to two of the three prostitutes, Karine Mkrtchyan and Karine Madoyan. Mkrtchyan said she and Madoyan had gone to Turkey in 2005, knowing they would be working as prostitutes for a pimp named Marianush Harutyunyan. Mkrtchyan said that, shortly after the women arrived in Turkey, they were deported to Batumi, on Georgia's Black Sea coast. She said the pimp had connections to a trafficking ring at the Georgian-Turkish border. The ring smuggled the women back into Turkey one at a time, pasting each woman,s photo into a Georgian passport, then bringing the passport back across the border into Georgia once the woman was through, and repeating the process with the next one. The prostitutes said that, once they were back in Turkey, the pimp told them they could not leave, as they would be arrested if border guards saw the deportation stamps in their Armenian passports.

    ¶4. (SBU) Both Madoyan and Mkrtchyan said they had been paid only a fraction of what was owed to them. Mkrtchyan, who worked for the pimp for four months, said she had received only about USD 1,000 of the USD 10,000 the pimp owed her, while Madoyan said she was still owed USD 30,000 from her year's employment.

    ¶5. (SBU) The trafficker was reported to the Shirak regional police, who opened a case against her and qualified it under the trafficking statute (which carries a higher penalty than the pimping statute). On July 19, the police transferred the case to the PG,s office, which reclassified it under the pimping statute.

    ¶6. (SBU) Mkrtchyan and Madoyan claimed PG office investigators Gasparyan and Yeremyan told them to recant the testimonies they had given to the police. Madoyan also claimed Yeremyan struck her in the face during a July 31 meeting. Among their complaints were that the investigators told them to say the trafficker owed them less money than she actually did, and accused them of filing police statements in order to blackmail the alleged trafficker. (NOTE: Under the Armenian system, criminal investigators are an arm of the PG's office, and thus of the judicial branch. Police services are separate, and fall under the purview of the executive branch. END NOTE.)

    ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: There were some discrepancies in the victims' stories. We also have some questions about the YEREVAN 00001091 002.2 OF 003 mental competence of one of the victims. The complete circumstances of the matter are therefore legitimately open to some question. We are persuaded, however, that the basic facts of the case are accurate. Investigating authorities must take such allegations seriously, and not dismiss them out of hand because they find the victims distasteful. END COMMENT.

    THERE IS AN OLD ARMENIAN SAYING

    ¶8. (C) Ambassador, DCM and Poloff met together with the PG to underline the seriousness of the case, both in its own right and as a bellwether for Armenian authorities' handling of TIP cases. The Ambassador discussed in detail several of the allegations, and stressed that they presented an opportunity for the PG's office to demonstrate its commitment to anti-TIP efforts.

    ¶9. (C) Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan was aware of the reason for our call. He smirked unmistakeably as the Ambassador raised our points. Hovsepyan spent a few minutes listing the GOAM's achievements on trafficking, before addressing the case at hand. He then told us he had heard about these allegations a week earlier from the National Security Service (NSS), adding that he had then asked the NSS to investigate both the victims and the NGO that had reported the allegations to the government. (NOTE: The Ambassador did not mention the NGO specifically, but when the prosecutor did so, he confirmed that an NGO had been involved. END NOTE.)

    ¶10. (C) Hovsepyan said he had personally investigated the allegations, and said that the case notes made it clear that the prostitutes had been lying. He characterized them as "unconscientious and non-compliant," saying derisively that they were "governed by different interests in their daily lives." He kept repeating that the prostitutes were angry that the investigators were not helping them recover their unpaid salaries from the pimp, and that money had motivated the allegations. He robustly defended Yeremyan. (NOTE: This is not surprising, given information we have received from Anti-TIP Unit Senior Prosecutor Armen Boshnaghyan (please protect) that the investigator has Hovsepyan's full support (ref B). END NOTE.) During his impassioned defense of Yeremyan, Hovsepyan cited an Armenian proverb which, roughly translated, means "May God keep us from the evil that comes from prostitutes."

    PG AGREES TO INVESTIGATE

    ¶11. (C) The Ambassador said he disagreed with the proverb, and that the shared Christian heritage of our countries compelled us to "hate the crime, but love the victim." He told Hovsepyan that he was troubled to hear that the prosecutor general had asked the NSS to investigate the prostitutes and the NGO, rather than investigate the allegations. Hovsepyan said there must have been a translation error, and that he actually had said that he asked the NSS to investigate the allegations, since it would not do to have the PG's office investigate itself. (NOTE: There was no translation error. END NOTE.) A few minutes later, Hovsepyan said his office had in fact been investigating the complaints for a week, and that it would continue to do so.

    ¶12. (C) Finally, Hovsepyan agreed to launch an internal investigation of the allegations. He said he would solicit the NGO's input. But he continued to sing Yeremyan's praises and to accuse the prostitutes of lying. He also mentioned that Yeremyan had asked repeatedly to be moved out of the Anti-TIP Unit, and that he would consider granting that request.

    COMMENT: MUCH CAUSE FOR CONCERN, BUT ALL IS NOT LOST

    ¶13. (C) Hovsepyan's performance was in character and betrayed the PG's apparent personal attitude toward trafficking victims and cases. We think we have at least ensured a more serious investigation of this case. We intend to pursue this matter further, and are optimistic that bringing pressure to bear on the MFA will achieve results, given President YEREVAN 00001091 003.2 OF 003 Kocharian's interest in Armenia's TIP rating (ref C). We will make the point that the next Interim Assessment is coming up.

    EVANS

`