Lawyer accuses judges of issuing unjust decisions: what is known
The issue of criminal liability for Hovhannes Melkonyan, President of the Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction of Armavir Province, and Judges Sima Abovyan and Edgar Hovhannisyan, will be discussed in the near future. Lawyer Ara Zohrabyan announced this on his Facebook page.
He notes that these judges committed the act specified in Article 482 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. According to the article, rendering an obviously unjust verdict, judgment, or other judicial act out of self-interest, other personal interest, or group interests is punishable by imprisonment for a term of one to four years.
Zohrabyan emphasizes that Hovhannes Melkonyan and Sima Abovyan issued decisions with almost identical texts when returning the lawsuits of former defrocked priests Stepan Asatryan and Aramayis Takhmazyan, which, in his opinion, indicates acting in group interests.
The lawyer also mentions that all three judges violated the Constitution, as well as the laws “On the Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church” and “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.”
According to Zohrabyan, the state, through its executive or judicial power, has no right to interfere in the internal life of the Church regarding the ordination, defrocking, or appointment/dismissal of clergy from spiritual positions.
As a reminder, Judges Sima Abovyan and Hovhannes Melkonyan obliged the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church and other persons to fully and without hindrance ensure that former priests Stepan Asatryan and Aramayis Takhmazyan continue their tenure in the position of spiritual pastor, while Edgar Hovhannisyan obliged the Church to ensure that Arman Saroyan (formerly Bishop Gevorg Saroyan) continues his tenure as the Leader of the Masyatsotn Diocese.
