During its first session in 2016, the Armenian Parliament accepted the resignation of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Karen Andreasyan.
Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan said that the ex-Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan also resigned untimely. He thinks that the activities of the first Human Rights Defender Larisa Alaverdyan also ended under unnatural conditions, against a scandalous background. "Did you wonder what happened to the Ombudsman, who worked well enough? It is widely rumored that he was forced to resign. He underwent pressure and blackmail. All this is related to one name - Armenia's Ambassador to Vatican Mikayel Minasyan. The law-enforcers should investigate the situation, because if an ambassador forces the Ombudsman to resign by means of blackmail or pressure, the elements of crime are obvious," Pashinyan said in Parliament.
For her part, Head of the Orinats Yerkir Party Faction Heghine Bisharyan suggested inviting Andreasyan to the Parliament to listen to his version of resignation reasons. "If the lawmakers have approved his nominee, they should also know the reasons of his resignation, especially if it is widely rumored that he was forced to resign," she stressed. Hovhannes Sahakyan, Head of the Standing Parliamentary on State and Legal Affairs replied that the Parliament's regulations do not envisage such a thing.
To recall, the Parliament of Armenia received Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan's notice to terminate on January 13. The powers of the human rights defender are terminated if he reaffirms his notice to terminate in a written form at least within 10 days after the first notice. The new ombudsman will be elected through secret voting in the parliament within a month.
To note, Karen Andreasyan has rather tense relations with some circles of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). According to the media reports, the reason is the conflict between Andreasyan and the Armenian President's son-in-law, Armenia's Ambassador to Vatican Mikayel Minasyan. This is why the RPA representatives loyal to Mikayel Minasyan ganged up against Karen Andreasyan and harshly criticized the latter's latest report in the Parliament. Experts suppose this was the reason of Andreasyan's resignation. Andreasyan was elected Human Rights Defender of Armenia in March 2011 for 6 years, i.e. he had one more year in his term in office.