President of the Judiciary Council Does Not Believe, Yet Does Not Rule Out Arthur Mkrtchyan's Possible Interference

The President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Ruben Vardazaryan, has reviewed the recent statement made by Vahagn Varagyan, the head of the "Green Future" initiative, regarding Arthur Mkrtchyan, the president of the First Instance General Jurisdiction Court of Yerevan.

According to Varagyan's statement, Mkrtchyan was overheard shouting on his phone at the "Triumph" café, saying, "What does it matter that he has three minor children? Do whatever you want, they should be jailed." Vardazaryan told Aysor.am, "The President of the Supreme Judicial Council does not comment on every rumor."

In response to Varagyan's claim that footage from the café would corroborate his allegations, the SJC president stated that it would be very good if the video recordings were requested. "In that case, the Supreme Judicial Council will respond appropriately," he said.

Ruben Vardazaryan mentioned that he knows Arthur Mkrtchyan and does not believe such an occurrence could happen. "But I do not rule it out, that is, I do not believe it, but I do not exclude it either," he stated.

When asked whether the courts are independent or dependent on the executive branch, Vardazaryan responded, "The courts are independent." This incident has also drawn attention from human rights defender Ruben Melikyan, who declared the occurrence shocking and unacceptable.

It is noteworthy that today the First Instance General Jurisdiction Court is examining appeals against the detentions of former head of the National Assembly Staff Ara Saghatelyan and political analyst Karen Bekaryan. Earlier, the court ruled overnight to detain Aram Sargsyan, who was arrested alongside Saghatelyan and Bekaryan in the same case.