Օn 25 April, the court hearing in the case of the former Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Armenia Ruben Vardazaryan continued in the Anti-Corruption Court.
Ruben Vardazaryan is accused of obstructing justice. According to the indictment, the latter, having held the position of the president of the SJC since 19 July, 2019, being a leading employee of the judicial authority, interfered with the administration of justice by Andranik Simonyan, judge of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Lori region. Andranik Simonyan, who was later appointed Deputy Head of the National Security Service, submitted the report on Vardazaryan about 2 years after the alleged incident.
According to Simonyan’s report, Vardazaryan approached him related the case of Vahagn Abgaryan, known as “Vahagn from Alaverd”. Vahagn Abgaryan is accused of organizing the murder of Kamo Piruzyan, a resident of Alaverdi, as well as of paying a bribe to carry out actions in his favor in the murder case. There is also a recording in the case. According to the indictment, the latter contacted Andranik Simonyan through the Signal application and, in the form of a request, demanded from the latter to change Abgaryan’s detention.
Vardazaryan does not accept the accusation against him.
According to Iravaban.net, during today’s court session, defense attorney Aram Orbelyan continued to present the motion to terminate the proceedings of the criminal case and stop the criminal prosecution against Ruben Vardazaryan. The lawyer claims that the criminal prosecution against his client should not be considered in the context of the fight against crime, but as a political prosecution. The lawyer mentioned the statements made by the ruling elite.
Aram Orbelyan read excerpts from the well known recording.
Notably, on 20 June, 2022, during the press conference, Ruben Vardazaryan published the recording of the conversation between him and Gagik Jhangiryan that took place in 2021. After listening to it, Vardazaryan commented on the recording, saying that Jhangiryan tried to convince him to resign before a certain period, and in that case, a criminal case would not be initiated against him.
The defender claims that as early as on 20 February, 2021, there was already a discussion about initiating a criminal case if Ruben Vardazaryan did not submit his resignation. “From the content of the conversation, it becomes obvious that even before receiving the data, which is the basis for the initiation of this case, and submitting the report, they were known to Gagik Jhangiryan. …In other words, back in February, Jhangiryan discussed a case that was initiated in April of the same year.”
In addition, on 2 March, 2021, Ruben Vardazaryan, as the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Armenia, presented the candidates for the Court of Cassation in the National Assembly. The deputies asked him dozens of questions, but none of them were related to the issue of the agenda. The questions refereed to the statement published by Ruben Vardazaryan on 15 November, 2020, “Devotion to the Motherland and adherence to our mission will be proven these days, and we will answer the question whether we have an independent judiciary in our country or not. Is the high dignity and honor of the judge mere words or the cornerstone of our activities? Today, perhaps, the objective and final answer to the ominous question that has been plaguing the entire public for almost two years and embarrassing for our judges will be given. Are we judges whining under the walls or honest professionals dedicated to the Motherland?
Aram Orbelyan notes that on that day the deputies talked about being called to account for the statement. “If they want to make a person responsible for the statement of 15 November, then the person should be made responsible just for that statement. They should not hide this, think of something else, and start a formal process. Right or wrong, it does not matter.”
According to the defense attorney, based on the available materials, it can be concluded that the given criminal case was initially initiated to remove Ruben Vardazaryan from the position of the chairman of the SJC.
“There is a criminal prosecution against Ruben Vardazaryan. Dear Court, You asked the question both in the previous session and in this session, what does the speech of the deputies in the National Assembly have to do with this criminal case? I say that it is related to the case of Merabishvili (former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vano Merabishvili-ed.),” Aram Orbelyan said.
Let’s remind that in June 2016, the ECtHR recorded a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding the lawsuit “Vano Merabishvili v. Georgia” and the Court considered justified the claim that his arrest and conviction were carried out in order to weaken the opposition and remove him from the field. The authorities of Georgia undertook to pay Merabishvili and his lawyer 8 thousand euros as compensation for the damage caused.
The Court found that there had been a violation of Article 18 of the Convention. According to that article, the limitations allowed by the Convention should not be applied for purposes for which they were not intended.
During the second court session, the senior prosecutor of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ashot Zhamkochian, will present his position regarding the petition, after which the court will leave for the deliberation room.
Details in the video.
