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Araks Mamulyan

Armenian Constitutional Court Prez Charged with "Abuse of Official Authority"

Hrayr Tovmasyan, president of Armenia’s Constitutional Court, has been charged with “Abuse of Official Authority" (Criminal Code Article 308).

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) reported that it questioned Tovmasyan today, but provided no further details in a statement.

Leaving the Constitutional Court, Tovmasyan talked to reporters waiting outside and described the charges as the latest round in political witch-hunt against him.

Tovmasyan said he had signed an affidavit not to leave Armenia during the ongoing investigation.

"Six months ago, I was warned that I would be charged for not doing steps A, B, and C," Tovmasyan said.

When reporters asked what steps he was referring to, Tovmasyan replied they dealt with his voluntary resignation from the court.

Many in Armenia, including government officials, want Tovmasyan to resign, arguing that he is favorably biased towards officials of the previous government.

Tovmasyan told reporters that he refused to answer questions posed by the SIS.

"It is not a secret for anyone that the Constitutional Court has worked under unprecedented pressure in the past 6-7 months. This pressure has been laced with acts of violence and foul language. However, during this time the court has worked unhindered and honored all the judges and decisions which will be crucial for our legal system,” Tovmasyan said, saying that many in Armenia do not know the members of the court.   

“They are patriotic, dedicated people. If you are looking for heroes in peacetime, they are sitting in this building, and I will not hesitate to mention their names: Arevik Petrosyan, Alvina Gyulumyan, Arman Dilanyan, Felix Tokhyan and Arayik Tunyan,” Tovmasyan said.

Update: Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) today released a statement alleging that Tovmasyan, during his tenure as justice minister (2010-2014), used his position to privatize an office in Yerevan and that he pressured notary publics working for the ministry to rent offices, at inflated prices, that he owned.

The PGO says that Tovmasyan received 800,000 drams per month as rent from two such notaries, for a total of 11.2 million drams

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