The Supreme Judicial Council Suspends Judges Gevorg Narinyan and Ara Kubanyan

On July 21, the Supreme Judicial Council made a decision to suspend the powers of judges Gevorg Narinyan and Ara Kubanyan of the Bankruptcy Court until the completion of the criminal proceedings initiated against them. This was reported by the Supreme Judicial Council.

According to Article 165, Part 1 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Judicial Code, "the powers of a judge shall be suspended by the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council in cases of criminal prosecution against the judge or deprivation of liberty until the completion of criminal proceedings."

It is noteworthy that Judge Gevorg Narinyan and Ara Kubanyan are involved in a criminal case initiated by the National Security Service. Gevorg Narinyan is charged with assisting in the abuse of official powers, money laundering, illicit enrichment, and providing false information or concealing information subject to declaration. Ara Kubanyan is charged with the abuse of official powers.

Yesterday, Gevorg Narinyan was detained by a decision of Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction. Another judge of the same court, Anna Matevosyan, rejected the National Security Service's request to detain Ara Kubanyan. The judges deny the charges against them.

Today, the National Security Service issued a statement regarding the details of the initiated criminal case and reported that a victim in the case related to the judges attempted self-immolation in front of the Government building, expressing dissatisfaction with the abuses committed during the bankruptcy proceedings and the resulting loss of property.