Arman Babajanyan Violated Parliamentary Ethics Rules: National Anti-Corruption Council

The National Anti-Corruption Council's latest conclusion states that Armenian National Assembly member Arman Babajanyan has violated parliamentary ethics norms and made inappropriate remarks and sexual insults towards a citizen.

The Council examined a publication dated February 6, 2020, on www.politik.am titled "Video: Arman Babajanyan made sexual insults towards a citizen, the member is lying," which reveals that the independent member of parliament verbally abused and directed obscene language at citizen Mariam Kirakosyan during a private conversation on the Facebook social network.

Later, when Mariam Kirakosyan brought the incident to light and published the correspondence, criticizing the parliamentarian for inappropriate behavior, Babajanyan not only failed to resolve the issue but also attempted to maneuver through dishonesty, claiming he had no connection to the published correspondence.

The Council confirms through its investigation that the published correspondence is authentic, and the parliamentarian has committed a gross violation of the ethical norms for National Assembly members. A parliamentarian is obligated to show respect towards all individuals he interacts with, both in the performance of his duties and in his daily conduct.

Sexual insults directed towards an individual in a private conversation clearly contain offenses towards particular groups of people. These expressions inherently provide a negative assessment and contempt regarding an individual's behavior and personal characteristics, which evidently belittle the person and their dignity. The use of such expressions by the parliamentarian in interactions with citizens and on social media does not reflect respect towards the citizen or the interlocutor.

The Council considers the personal use of such expressions, even in private conversations, inappropriate in light of the parliamentarian's status and character, as it does not contribute to the public perception of the parliamentarian's decency and legality, which is necessary for fostering public respect and trust towards the National Assembly.

The conclusion from the National Anti-Corruption Council has been sent to all factions of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia with a request to establish a temporary committee on ethics as stipulated in the constitutional law on the "Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia."