Tuesday, October 29 2019 15:29

ArmInfo. The Ombudsman of  Armenia intends to raise the issue of changing the preventive  measure against Arsen Babayan.

As stated in a statement by the office of the Defender of Human  Rights, taking into account the study of complaints and requirements  of the lawyer, as well as information provided by Babayan himself,  the issue will be raised about discussing an alternative preventive  measure instead of arrest. In this case, the Ombudsman takes into  account the international principle that detention is a last resort  applied in the presence of relevant legal grounds and conditions, as  well as if it is not possible to ensure proper behavior of a person  during criminal proceedings by other preventive measures.

In addition, the Ombudsman intends to request justification from the  criminal prosecution body regarding the ban on meetings and telephone  conversations with family members to Arsen Babayan, as well as to  propose discussing the lifting of this ban if this is not necessary.

Acting deputy chief of staff of the parliament Arsen Babayan  is  accused in the criminal case on usurpation of state power. He was  charged under part 1 of article 38-300 (complicity in usurping state  power) and part 1 of article 314 (official forgery) of the Criminal  Code of Armenia.

According to the indictment, on February 12, 2018, the NA President  proposed the candidacy of MP from the Republican Party of Armenia  Hrayr Tovmasyan to the vacant seat of a member of the Constitutional  Court. On March 2, 2018, the National Assembly elected the latter a  member of the Constitutional Court.  As of March 1, 2018, when 40  days still left before the 7th chapter of the Constitution was to  come into force, according to the referendum of December 6, 2015 (the  newly elected President of Armenia was to take office on April 9,  2018), a group of officials, in order to avoid the upcoming  constitutional regulation on the election of the head of the  Constitutional Court for a term of 6 years and the possibility for a  member of his team to remain in office until the age of 70, seized  power in violation of the constitutional order, appointing Hrayr  Tovmasyan for the post of chairman of the Constitutional Court on  March 2,  2018 - prior to the entry into force of this restriction ,  "the SIS reports.  

According to the SIS in particular, the former head of the  Constitutional Court, Gagik Harutyunyan, whose term of office (70  years) was supposed to end on March 23, 2018, signed a statement  addressed to the NA Speaker Ara Babloyan on the resignation of the  post of the Chairman of the Constitutional Council, which was dated   March , 2018.  This application was sent from the general department  of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court and, through the head of  the apparatus, was presented to the acting Deputy Chief of Staff of  the National Assembly Arsen Babayan, on March 5.  Moreover, Speaker  of the National Assembly Ara Babloyan, having not officially received  Gagik Harutyunyan's statement,  on March 2 illegally signed and made  a statement on the resignation of the head of the Constitutional  Court Gagik Harutyunyan. Otherwise, the President of the National  Assembly would not have been able to announce the resignation of the  Head of the Constitutional Court before the next ordinary sitting of  the National Assembly on March 20, 2018.

And in this case, in conditions of the three-day deadline stipulated  by the law, it would be impossible to appoint Hrayr Tovmasyan as the  head of the Constitutional Court, as no regular meeting of the  National Assembly was scheduled before that, "said the SIS.

The SIS also emphasizes that Arsen Babayan, having violated the legal  regulation on part 6 of Article 97 of the Law "On the Rules of the  National Assembly" adopted on February 20, 2002, with the intention  of assisting a group of people in usurping the powers of the  Constitutional Court, in the context of introducing, Gagik  Harutyunyan's statements to the official "Mulberrry" electronic  system of the General Department of the National Assembly on March 5,  2018, through the employees of this department, introduced false  information to the press about the receipt of this statement. He also  noted the entry date on the Mulberry system March 2, 2018. Thus, he  distorted the fact that Gagik Harutyunyan's statement arrived in the  National Assembly on March 5.

Thus, Arsen Babayan created false grounds for the publication of the  fact that the head of the Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunyan  submitted a letter of resignation signed by the Speaker of the  National Assembly Ara Babloyan on March 2, 2018, in order to usurp  the powers of the Constitutional Court. This, in turn, became the  basis for the termination of his powers, and later on for the process  of nominating and appointing Hrayr Tovmasyan to this vacant position.   Arrest was chosen as a measure of restraint against Babayan.