Narek Mutafyan and Sargis Ohanyan, who were charged in a criminal case concerning the alleged harassment of former judge Anna Danibekyan in the case of Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan, have been acquitted. The information was announced by their lawyer Vahe Yeprikyan, Factor.am reported.
Mutafyan and Ohanyan had been accused of obstructing the administration of justice.
According to a summary of the indictment published in the Datalex judicial information system, the charges were based on the claim that the two men, having learned in advance that Judge Anna Danibekyan of the Shengavit residence of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction was attending training sessions at the Justice Academy of Armenia, intended to influence her position in the Kocharyan case.
The indictment stated that on September 27, 2019, at around 4:50 p.m., they went to the Justice Academy located at 9 Pirumyanner Street in Yerevan, waited in the courtyard to meet Danibekyan after her classes, and planned to record the encounter and broadcast it live online under the title “Let’s try to help Themis.” However, Danibekyan left through the academy’s rear exit, avoiding them.
According to the charges, later that day, at around 8:30 p.m., they continued their actions by approaching Danibekyan near the Komitas Pantheon park on Arshakunyats Avenue as she was returning home. The indictment alleged that they insulted her honor and dignity and asked whether she belonged to the group of “whining” judges, referring to her decision on the preventive measure imposed on Kocharyan.
The document further claimed that Mutafyan suggested showing the back of her head to determine whether there were traces of blows from wooden sticks and attempted to film it, recording and livestreaming the interaction in an effort to exert pressure and interfere with her future rulings in the Kocharyan case.
It was also noted that in 2019, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had described the judicial system as “ownerless” and said that some judges were “whining under the walls and looking for new masters.”
During a press conference at the Supreme Judicial Council, Chairman Ruben Vardazaryan, responding to a question about why the council had not reacted to that statement, said: “I believe that perhaps the wording was somewhat harsh. Frankly speaking, judges are always restrained in publicly commenting on colleagues, but when they speak among themselves, they understand very well whom the prime minister had in mind and what he was talking about.”
These circumstances were cited by Mutafyan and Ohanyan as justification for asking Danibekyan whether she considered herself among the “whining” judges.
The acquittal verdict was delivered by Judge Martin Arzumanyan.
Anna Danibekyan no longer serves as a judge. The Supreme Judicial Council terminated her powers following disciplinary proceedings related to the Kocharyan case, and she has applied to the European Court of Human Rights.
