OMBUDSMAN ARMEN HARUTYUNIAN “CONVICTED”

Today instead of discussing the contents of the Ombudsman’s speech the National Assembly devoted entire 7 hours to criticizing its structure. MP Gagik Minasian noticed that “the report was badly arranged”, “It lacked the proper method of structuring” and finally “You were not competent to make analyses!”
This was the main “accusation” to Armen Harutyunian. The pro-governmental MPs and the Prosecutor General blamed him for making subjective assessments and for being too politicized.
However, former Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunian was anxious about the effort of the Government to separate politics and Law. He told the journalists that the ombudsman is responsible for raising general concerns and for making them public, whereas the solutions should be made by the corresponding bodies.
Armen Harutyunian also had to answer the MPs’ questions why he had used non-official sources. “If I were to use official sources only, I would have to repeat what the authorities keep saying and sit with my hands crossed. So why am I considered to be a defender of human rights?”, wondered Harutyunian.
After the ombudsman’s speech most of the listeners (members of NGOs, representatives of European institutions, relatives of 1 March detainees, and others) greeted him with heavy applauses.

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