Why Yerevan State University Lecturer Abraham Gasparyan Was Dismissed: Clarifications from YSU

Lecturers Abraham Gasparyan and Menua Soghomonyan were not dismissed from their positions at Yerevan State University (YSU) due to political motives. YSU spokesperson Knar Misakyan stated that their employment contracts had expired and were not renewed.

“There are other lecturers with opposing views who are currently teaching at YSU,” she said.

Abraham Gasparyan announced today through a Facebook post that he would no longer be teaching at YSU, stating that the reason was political. “I will personally seek to fight against this decision and to restore my teaching status,” he wrote.

Just the day before, Menua Soghomonyan also reported that he had been dismissed and would no longer be teaching at YSU. “I regret to inform that after 16 years of teaching, for the first time this year, I have been deprived of the opportunity to teach at the Mother University. The current leadership of YSU has refused to sign a new employment contract with me and has dismissed me. The Faculty of International Relations has also decided that I should not have a teaching load; all my courses have been ‘happily coincidentally’ removed either from the academic plans or from the balances of the Department of Political Science. All of this happened hastily, without discussing it with me, even without informing me,” he wrote, adding that he would fight against this decision.