Rustam Bakoyan Fails to Appear at Court Hearing

RPA faction member of the National Assembly Rustam Bakoyan did not appear at the court hearing related to him, and the court proceeded with the session in his absence. A lawsuit has been filed against Bakoyan by former Armenian Ambassador to Poland Edgar Ghazaryan, who claims Bakoyan made insulting remarks against him during a discussion in the Assembly’s Human Rights Committee regarding Ghazaryan's candidacy for the position of Human Rights Defender.

Ghazaryan has filed a lawsuit for defamation and insult. This was reported by the newspaper 'Hraparak'. In the session held at the Vedi site of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Ararat and Vayots Dzor provinces, presided over by Judge Gohar Kostanyan, the court allocated the burden of proof, obligating Bakoyan to prove Ghazaryan's allegations of drug use that he made during the National Assembly session.

During the same session, insulting remarks were also made against Ghazaryan by fellow RPA member Arthur Hovhannisyan, who is also facing a lawsuit from Ghazaryan. In addition, Ghazaryan has reported that RPA members had threatened to cut off his ear and has approached the Prosecutor General's Office regarding this matter. He has also filed an administrative complaint contesting the election of Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan.