Thursday,
Former Tax Chief To Remain Under Arrest
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia -- Finance Minister Gagik Khachatrian attends a parliament session in
Yerevan, November 16, 2015.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision to extend
the pre-trial detention of former Finance Minister Gagik Khachatrian who is
accused abuse of power and misuse of public funds.
Khachatrian, who was a member of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s cabinet from
2014-2016, was arrested in late August after a law-enforcement agency claimed to
have recovered 800 million drams ($1.7 million) in “damage inflicted on the
state” by him.
Khachatrian’s nephew Karen was also arrested and charged at the time. The latter
used to run an internal security division of the State Revenue Committee (SRC).
The government agency comprising Armenia’s tax and customs services was headed
by Gagik Khachatrian from 2008-2014.
Both men deny a large-scale “waste” of government funds alleged by the National
Security Service (NSS). The NSS claims, in particular, that as head of the SRC
Gagik Khachatrian also hired and registered employees who never reported for
work.
While continuing to deny any wrongdoing, the once powerful ex-minister indicated
through his lawyer, Yerem Sargsian, earlier this week that he is ready to
compensate the state for the entire damage allegedly caused by his actions.
Sargsian voiced the offer as he appealed against the latest decision by a
district court in Yerevan allowing investigators to hold Khachatrian in
detention. He also petitioned the Court of Appeals to free his client on bail.
The court rejected both appeals.
Sargsian insisted on Thursday that Khachatrian is in poor health and is not
receiving adequate medical aid in prison. He accused law-enforcement bodies of
ignoring medical documents certifying Khachatrian’s serious health problems. The
ex-minister has not attended the latest court hearings on the criminal case.
Throughout his tenure Khachatrian was dogged by corruption allegations, with
some Armenian media outlets and opposition figures accusing him of using his
position to become one of the country’s richest men. They cited his family’s
extensive business interests, which include one of Armenia’s three mobile phone
networks, a shopping mall, a car dealership and a luxury watch store in Yerevan.
Khachatrian repeatedly denied ownership of these and other businesses, saying
that they belong to his two sons and other relatives.
Armenian President Challenges Government Bill In High Court
Armenia -- President Armen Sarkissian (R) meets with Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian, Yerevan, February 4, 2020.
President Armen Sarkissian on Thursday asked the Constitutional Court to examine
a recently passed government bill easing bank secrecy and to rule whether it
corresponds to the Armenian constitution.
Armenian banks are presently required to provide tax and law-enforcement
authorities with information about financial accounts of only those clients who
are accused or suspected of certain crimes.
A package of legal amendments passed by the parliament in the final reading last
month would allow investigators to also see what individuals linked to criminal
suspects have in their domestic bank accounts. But they would still need to
secure court permissions for that.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has said this will help the Armenian authorities
fight against corruption more effectively. Opposition lawmakers have warned,
however, the measure could scare away investors.
Sarkissian’s office announced that the president has declined to sign the bill
into law because he believes it is “seemingly controversial in terms of
constitutionality.” It said that with “relevant legal corroborations and
arguments” he has asked the Constitutional Court to determine the bill’s
conformity with the constitution.
The appeal came two days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with Sarkisian
to discuss his continuing standoff with the high court and its chairman, Hrayr
Tovmasian, in particular. Pashinian’s political team has been pressuring
Tovmasian and six other members of the court to resign, saying that they lack
legitimacy and are distrusted by the population.
Pashinian wrote on Facebook after the meeting with the head of state that they
share “common principles and ideas about ways of resolving the existing
situation around the Constitutional Court.” He did not elaborate.
Sarkissian, who has largely ceremonial powers, has not intervened in the
standoff so far. He has rarely challenged decisions made by the current
government.
Yerevan Urged To Seek Venice Commission Opinion On Constitutional Changes
FRANCE – A session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in
Strasbourg, April 25, 2017.
Representatives of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) urged
the Armenian authorities on Thursday to consult with legal experts from the
Strasbourg-based organization before enacting controversial constitutional
changes.
The PACE co-rapporteurs for Armenia, Andrej Sircelj and Kimmo Kiljunen, made the
appeal as the Armenian parliament debated the proposed changes that would
replace seven of the nine members of Armenia’s Constitutional Court locked in a
bitter dispute with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his My Step bloc.
My Step bloc, which controls the parliament, also moved to call a referendum on
the draft amendments rejected by opposition lawmakers as unconstitutional.
“The proposed changes could have long-term repercussions on the functioning of
constitutional institutions,” Sircelj and Kiljunen said in a joint statement.
“In this context, as well as taking into account some of the questions raised in
that respect, we call on the Armenian authorities to request as soon as
possible, the opinion of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s expert
body on constitutional law.”
“We believe that this opinion, which could be adopted very quickly via an urgent
procedure, would be valuable to all stakeholders, including the Armenian
electorate if a referendum were to be held,” they said.
The Armenian government and the parliament majority did not immediately react to
the appeal.
The PACE co-rapporteurs and Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio
earlier expressed serious concern over the ruling bloc’s standoff with
Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian and six other judges who had been
appointed by the former Armenian governments. Buquicchio warned on Monday
against “any undue political or personal pressure on the judges concerned.”
Armenian Parliament Calls For Referendum On Constitutional Court
• Astghik Bedevian
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a parliament debate on
constitutional changes, Yerevan, February 6, 2020.
Ignoring opposition objections, Armenia’s parliament decided on Thursday to hold
a referendum on constitutional changes that would dismiss seven of the nine
members of the Constitutional Court locked in a bitter dispute with Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government.
They would be replaced by other judges to be confirmed by the current 132-member
National Assembly in which Pashinian’s My Step bloc holds 88 seats.
The decision was unanimously backed by virtually all My Step deputies. Lawmakers
representing the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK) voted against it while
their colleagues from the other parliamentary opposition party, Prosperous
Armenia (BHK), did not vote at all.
My Step’s Vahagn Hovakimian, who presented the draft amendments during the
parliament debate, said that the Constitutional Court is Armenia’s least trusted
state institution.
Addressing the National Assembly shortly before the vote, Pashinian also
strongly defended the amendments rejected as unconstitutional by opposition
deputies. He again accused Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian and six
other judges installed by former Armenian governments from 1995-2018 of being
linked to the “corrupt former regime.”
“The Constitutional Court represents the corrupt regime of [former President]
Serzh Sarkisian, rather than the people, and it must go,” he declared.
Pashinian also claimed that Armenia’s highest court “limits the people’s power”
and poses a “terrible and direct threat to democracy.” Its legal powers must
therefore be superseded by “sovereign rights of the people,” he said.
Pashinian went on to warn his political opponents against attempting to thwart
the constitutional changes through legal or other mechanisms, saying that they
would be declared “anti-state” elements in that case.
Armenia -- Deputies talk during a short break taken during a parliament debate
on constitutional changes, Yerevan, February 6, 2020.
The warning prompted an angry response from LHK leader Edmon Marukian, who
accused Pashinian of “blackmail.”
“Is it you who decides who are anti-state forces and who are patriots? Is this
the ‘democracy’ you dream about?” Marukian asked him on the parliament floor.
Marukian reaffirmed his party’s view that the draft amendments run counter to
other articles of the Armenian constitution. He also noted that the current
Constitutional Court consists of judges appointed under different governments.
This is an important safeguard for the court’s independence, he said.
Another senior LHK figure, Taron, Sahakian, insisted that under Armenian law the
amendments cannot be put on a referendum without being examined and endorsed by
the Constitutional Court.
Parliament majority leaders gave no indications that they will submit the
amendments to the court for approval before setting a referendum date. They
cited articles of the constitution which make no reference to such a validation.
Pashinian and his allies hinted that the decision to hold the referendum should
be endorsed instead by President Armen Sarkissian. The prime minister said
Sarkisian has already agreed in principle to the holding of the vote.
The president has made no public statements on the matter so far.
Armenia -- Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian talks to reporters
outside his home searched by law-enforcement officers, Yerevan, January 24, 2020.
The Constitutional Court judges and Tovmasian in particular have for months been
under growing government pressure to resign. The parliament also passed in
December a government bill offering them financial incentives to retire before
the end of their mandate. None of them has accepted the early retirement scheme
so far.
Later in December, prosecutors brought criminal charges against Tovmasian. The
Constitutional Court chairman rejected the accusations as politically motivated
and again ruled out his resignation. He has said that the authorities want to
get rid of him in order to gain control over the court.
Tovmasian claimed to be unfazed by the latest developments when he briefly spoke
to RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Thursday evening. He said that he did not follow
the parliament debate.
“I don’t care what’s happening in the National Assembly,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Tovmasian hosted a reception for fellow judges and
Constitutional Court staffers to mark the 24 anniversary of the court’s
establishment. “Rest assured that the members of the court will never make a
decision of which they will be ashamed,” he said in a speech.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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