The abuse of official power case of the President of the Constitutional Court Hrayr Tovmasyan, and his son-in-law Norayr Panosyan, will be sent to court in the coming days if the presiding prosecutor approves the charges levied against them.

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) alleges 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.

Panosyan is charged with complicity in the affair, and the two have been charged with abuse of official power.

Tovmasyan describes the charges as the latest round in political witch-hunt against him.

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

Photo (from left): Norayr Panosyan, Hrayr Tovmasyan