I Will Resign on Two Conditions: Judge Alexander Azaryan

I will resign on two conditions: if Nikol Pashinyan resigns and when I turn 65 years old. This statement was made by Alexander Azaryan, a judge of the Armenian Court of Appeals, in an interview with NEWS.am, responding to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speech today.

It is noteworthy that Azaryan is the judge who ruled to release Armenia's second president Robert Kocharyan from custody on August 13, 2018, as the court acknowledged that the former president is immune from prosecution.

Recall that earlier today, under the directive of Nikol Pashinyan, citizens blocked the entrances and exits of all courts in the Republic. At noon, the Prime Minister held a meeting in the government regarding the situation in the judicial system and stated that it is time for "surgical interventions" to be carried out.

The head of the executive emphasized that all judges responsible for rulings that grossly violate citizens' rights as established by the European Court of Human Rights must resign, leave, or be dismissed. All judges who know they cannot be impartial should also resign.