Jhangiryan Put His Nose in the Wrong Place, Let Him Enjoy His Pension: Ruben Vardazaryan

The criminal case initiated based on the controversial recording of a conversation between former presidents of the Supreme Judicial Council, Ruben Vardazaryan and Gagik Jhangiryan, will be reopened.

MediaHub inquired with Vardazaryan about his expectations, given that the case had been closed due to the lack of a crime.

“I have no expectations; I am confident that some pretext or small justification will be found to close the case again. The reason for this cycle of initiation and closure of the case is not an examination of the essence of the matter but rather the result of inter-agency struggles. The order was clear: the case must be closed, and some mechanism must be found. In this process, the Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee failed to understand each other, which is why the case was closed and reopened multiple times. The order that no case be initiated and that no one bears criminal responsibility remains in effect and will eventually be enforced,” he stated.

Speaking about a potential confrontation, Vardazaryan noted that without such a confrontation, the case will not move forward, which has not yet occurred. “Let me be clear, I am not striving or desiring for Gagik Jhangiryan to face criminal responsibility; I just wanted to show my colleagues that all of this was a political order and that I was being persecuted. I achieved my goal; the reality has been revealed. Whether Jhangiryan will be held criminally responsible or not interests me very little. After all, he is an elderly man who made a mistake, put his nose in a field that wasn’t his, ended up with what he deserved; let him go and peacefully enjoy his pension,” Vardazaryan commented.

It is noteworthy that during a meeting with journalists last year, former president of the Supreme Judicial Council Ruben Vardazaryan published an exclusive recording of his conversation with the acting president of the Supreme Judicial Council, Gagik Jhangiryan, and Supreme Judicial Council member Stepan Mikayelyan from February 20, 2021. The criminal proceedings initiated based on the materials prepared from Vardazaryan's published recording had earlier been rejected for initiating disciplinary proceedings against Jhangiryan.