Investigative Bodies Demand Public Apology from President of the Council of Justice

The Special Investigative Service of Armenia, the Investigative Committee, and the Investigative Department of the State Revenue Committee have deemed the statements of the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Ruben Vardazaryan, as offensive to their employees and are demanding that he issue a public apology.

The statement specifically mentions, “In response to the remarks made by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Ruben Vardazaryan, during the ‘Horizon’ program aired on Shant TV on June 23, 2020, he discussed the issue of public distrust toward the judicial authority along with Aram Abrahamyan, stating that we have investigative bodies that are not very competent and inadequate prosecutorial oversight, and that the latter throw poorly investigated cases directly into court. Ruben Vardazaryan also mentioned that we do not have incompetent judges.”

“In this context, we find it necessary to clarify that the generalized and inappropriate characterizations given by Ruben Vardazaryan toward the investigative bodies insult the employees of the pre-investigation bodies, overshadowing the complex, high-responsibility work they carry out. Of course, it is possible that there may be investigators in the pre-investigation bodies whose professional qualifications still need improvement; however, while not excluding this fact, we assure that there are many dedicated professionals within the investigative system today, possessing brilliant legal knowledge, principled character, and high moral qualities, who spare no effort, conducting effective and quality investigations even on the most complicated, high-stakes criminal cases.”

“And if Ruben Vardazaryan states that any insult directed at a judge is perceived as an insult to a group of 240, in the same way, Mr. Vardazaryan’s assessments insult hundreds of investigators from the pre-investigation bodies. We believe that the subjective evaluations of the President of the Supreme Judicial Council regarding the pre-investigation bodies are not only unsupported and unfounded but also do not adhere to the status of the official and ethical norms associated with it.”

“We expect that Ruben Vardazaryan will at least publicly apologize to the employees of the pre-investigation bodies for his offensive remarks, and from now on will demonstrate necessary restraint, refraining from making unfounded and incorrect statements regarding the work of the investigative bodies.”