Joint Statement by the ‘Armenia’ and ‘I Have Honor’ Factions

The joint statement made by the ‘Armenia’ and ‘I Have Honor’ factions is presented below:

The executive power in Armenia has initiated yet another attack on the independence of the judiciary. It is unprecedented in the civilized world for law enforcement authorities to criminally prosecute a judge instead of appealing a judicial decision through review. This creates a situation where the judicial system becomes a dependent tool of law enforcement.

This chain of abuses has occurred with the unanimous support of the Supreme Judicial Council and in the silence of the international community and diplomats accredited to Armenia. It is noteworthy that despite numerous disgraceful attacks by the executive on the judiciary in the past four years, a process has now begun to illegally detain judges who are deemed undesirable by the authorities, following disciplinary proceedings and criminal prosecutions against them.

The concerns publicly expressed by the Administrative Court, the President of the Judges' Union, and the professional community indicate that the attacks on the judicial authority and legal impunity have reached unprecedented levels.

In light of the above, we call upon all healthy political and societal forces, as well as the legal community, to contribute to the protection of the judiciary and judges from government attacks. We urge the bodies of the judiciary and judges not to remain indifferent and to express a clear stance regarding the repressive measures being used against their colleagues.

We draw the attention of international organizations to the glaring facts of the collapse of democracy in Armenia and demand that they respond in accordance with their mandates and recognize their share of responsibility.