Inappropriate Behavior by Official: Who is the Target of Pashinyan's Statement? - Zhoghivour

«Zhoghivour» newspaper reports that "The head of the State Oversight Service of Armenia, Davit Sanasaryan, has violated the ethical standards set forth in Article 28 of the Law on Public Service, specifically, 'he has not contributed to the formation of trust and respect towards the position he occupies and the body he represents'".

This conclusion was reached by the Ethics Committee for Senior Officials based on a complaint filed by Yerevan State University (YSU) rector Aram Simonyan, regarding Sanasaryan's statements and Facebook posts related to inspections conducted at YSU.

It should be noted that Aram Simonyan had approached the Ethics Commission, considering Sanasaryan's statements as pressure and guidance against law enforcement agencies, as well as inappropriate behavior for a public official. The Ethics Commission concluded that Sanasaryan's remarks "contained imperative emphases and elements of prejudice, and thus are inappropriate for a person holding a public office".

Interestingly, on February 19, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a notable statement in the National Assembly regarding previously active officials: 'Many believe that if their platform in the past was Facebook pages, it should still be the same now, and by writing sharp statuses on that page, they are going to check any organization without thinking that this status may provide a very concrete basis for judicial appeal, saying that before checking you have already decided who is guilty'.

According to many, one of the targets of this statement was indeed Davit Sanasaryan, against whom the Ethics Committee has now made a decision.

For more details, see the newspaper’s current issue.