The Deputy Director of the National Security Service Also Works as a Judge: New Controversy is Brewing

The daily newspaper "Joghourd" reports: "On March 31, 2021, by the decision of Nikol Pashinyan, Andranik Simonian was relieved of his position as Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee, a role he held for only 5 days, and on the same day he was appointed as Deputy Director of the National Security Service (NSS) by presidential decree.

According to the newspaper, new controversy is brewing around Simonian. It turns out that after being appointed head of the NSS, Simonian made a ruling in the judicial system, which constitutes a criminal act. Information has reached us that the 'Veles' human rights organization has filed a criminal report regarding Andranik Simonian's actions with the National Security Service.

So what is the issue? In 2017, a criminal charge was brought against Vahagn Abgaryan, a figure considered to be a criminal authority, for murder and illegal possession of weapons, which was intensified on May 10, 2018. On May 31, 2018, the criminal case was sent to the first-instance court of general jurisdiction in the Lori region of Armenia.

To date, the case has been examined by various judges who have passed it from one to another. And now, when Abgaryan's lawyer submitted a motion to replace the measure of restraint with bail, the case was examined by the former judge, now NSS Deputy Director Andranik Simonian (who took over the review of the case in September 2020).

What is noteworthy is that although Judge Simonian made a decision in separate judicial acts on February 5, 2021, to reject the submitted motion, the parties have yet to receive the decision as it was not sent out. And now human rights defenders are drawing the NSS's attention to the fact that Andranik Simonian must backdate this decision at a time when he was no longer in the position of a judge but served as Deputy Director of the NSS.

This act is specified in Article 317 of the Armenian Criminal Code: 'Seizing the title or power of an official voluntarily...'. This crime is included in the section of offenses against the order of governance of the Armenian Criminal Code.

The objective side of the crime is manifested in the voluntary seizure of the title or power of an official on the one hand, and the use of the uniform or certificate of workers of the courts and other law enforcement bodies on the other hand. Furthermore, according to the first part of Article 314 of the Armenian Criminal Code, it is punishable by imprisonment for up to four years, depriving the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.

Thus, if Andranik Simonian is to sign the judicial act made in his capacity as a judge two months later, it results in an official forgery, considering that the judicial act is enacted through the act of signing, and any delayed signing would constitute an act of falsification in an official document.

We await the actions of NSS investigators and remind that Simonian's actual appointment to the position of NSS Director was made by the Secretary of the 'My Step' faction, Hakob Simidian.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.