Prosecutors seek consent to initiate criminal proceedings against two judges

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia has submitted two motions to the Supreme Judicial Council seeking consent to initiate criminal proceedings against two judges.

Ishkhanutyun media outlet, citing its sources, reported that the two judges are Masis Melkonyan and Gevorg Poghosyan.

However, the Prosecutor General’s Office did not disclose the identities of the judges, but confirmed that two such motions had been submitted.

“Pursuant to Part 1 of Article 161 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia ‘Judicial Code of the Republic of Armenia,’ the Prosecutor’s Office has submitted two motions to the Supreme Judicial Council seeking consent to initiate criminal proceedings against two judges in connection with the exercise of their judicial powers. Given the need to preserve the confidentiality of the preliminary investigation and protect the reputation of the judiciary and the judge, the contents of the motions and data identifying the judges are not subject to disclosure,” the Prosecutor General’s Office told Armenpress.

According to Ishkhanutyun, the process is based on information concerning alleged abuse of official powers. The report says the matter concerns court rulings issued against certain defendants, as a result of which they were able to leave the country freely. Ishkhanutyun also reported that, once the Supreme Judicial Council grants consent to initiate criminal proceedings, the issue of taking the judges into custody is expected to be raised.