Armenia: prosecutors seek to charge two Yerevan judges, Masis Melkonyan and Gevorg Poghosyan
- Published
- Place
- Yerevan, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has asked the Supreme Judicial Council for consent to bring criminal proceedings against two judges. It confirmed this to several media outlets on Saturday, 14 November, without giving names. According to the newspaper Ishkhanutyun, followed by other Armenian media, they are Masis Melkonyan and Gevorg Poghosyan, judges of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction. Prosecutors cite Article 161 of the Judicial Code: a judge cannot be prosecuted for acts linked to their duties without the Council’s consent. According to Ishkhanutyun, the two judges are suspected of abuse of power. Some of their rulings allegedly allowed defendants to leave Armenia freely. The paper says a request to detain them could follow. These suspicions have not been officially confirmed, and the two judges have not commented.
Prosecutors remained very cautious. “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 office told the Armenpress news agency.
The Supreme Judicial Council did not comment. It said it does not provide information on Saturdays, according to Panorama.am.
The “Chagh Rustam” case
Masis Melkonyan is no stranger to the headlines. In recent months his name kept coming up in the case of Rustam Stepanyan, nicknamed “Chagh Rustam” and described as a crime figure.
In late September, the judge released him from detention and placed him under house arrest. Prosecutors appealed. The appeals court overturned the ruling, and Rustam Stepanyan was back in detention in late October. According to several media outlets, the pattern repeated itself: the judge granted house arrest, the appeals court cancelled it. This back-and-forth fuelled suspicion.
A judge in major political cases
The paradox is striking. Masis Melkonyan is also known for ordering the detention of many opposition figures. As early as September, Panorama.am described him as the judge who sends “everyone” to detention in political cases.
On Saturday, human rights advocate Ruben Melikyan, who is close to the opposition, published a list of fifteen people he calls “political prisoners”, all detained by this judge. They include Archbishops Arshak, Mikael and Bagrat, former Stepanakert mayor David Sargsyan and Levon Kocharyan.
Little has emerged about the second judge, Gevorg Poghosyan.
Analysis
The case is delicate for everyone. If the suspicions are confirmed, it would show that court rulings may have been arranged for defendants able to flee the country. But prosecutors have said nothing publicly: for now, everything rests on press leaks. For the opposition, the symbolism is strong. The judge who sent so many of its figures to detention is now under threat himself. The Supreme Judicial Council will have to decide, before a public deeply distrustful of the courts.
Possible consequences
The Supreme Judicial Council must examine both motions. If it consents, criminal proceedings can be opened. Prosecutors could then seek to detain the two judges, according to Ishkhanutyun.
