Paramazyan Remains Mayor of Kajaran as Court Rejects Prosecutor's Appeal

The mayor of Kajaran, Manvel Paramazyan's defense lawyers, Ervand Varosyandin and Lusine Sahakyan, have issued a statement: “Just now, the RA Court of Appeal, presided over by judge Andranik Mnatsakanyan, decided to reject the prosecutor’s appeal, which demanded to suspend the powers of Manvel Paramazyan as the head of the Kajaran community. Manvel Paramazyan continues to be the head of the community.

During the discussion of the issue in the appellate court, another interesting aspect was revealed that substantiates the political nature of the persecution against the community leader. The prosecutor presented a letter from the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures G. Sanosyan, claiming that Manvel Paramazyan allegedly obstructs the normal functioning of the Kajaran municipality by not accepting the resignation of his deputy, thus preventing the government from appointing any interim head of the community.

Leaving aside the fact that the presented letter has no relevance to the legislative regulations regarding the suspension of the community leader's powers, it is worth noting that there is no resignation request from the deputy, and no such application has been submitted to the community leader. Furthermore, the deputy, who was released from illegal detention, continues to perform his duties properly. It is a fact that the authorities no longer even attempt to conceal the political nature of the persecution as well as the real purpose of that persecution.

We also recall that before the general jurisdiction court’s discussion on the motion to suspend Manvel Paramazyan’s powers, there was a statement by the spokesperson of the same minister, indicating that the suspension of the community leader’s position is necessary for appointing an interim official.