More than two dozen of them signed last week a petition calling on Pashinian to sack Minasian. The signatories have publicly given no clear reasons for their demand. Some of them have said only that they are unhappy with the minister’s “staffing policy.”
Many government loyalists were recently incensed by his decision to appoint Sirvard Gevorgian as deputy justice minister, which was formally approved by Pashinian on September 6. They suspect her of sympathizing with Robert Kocharian, a former Armenian president now leading the main opposition Hayastan alliance.
Gevorgian denied having ties to Kocharian before stepping down last Thursday. Minasian blamed her resignation on “extremely unfair and petty attacks by some individuals,” drawing a stern rebuke from Andranik Kocharian, one of the petition’s signatories heading the parliament committee on defense and security.
“Today I decided to join the signature collection against my tenure and submitted my resignation to the prime minister,” Minasian announced in a Facebook post.
“In the parliamentary system of government, it will be difficult to hold the position of a minister if you do not have positive cooperation with even one deputy,” he said. “I was informed that I have a problem with about two dozen deputies from the Civil Contract faction.”
Minasian defended his track record, saying that “a lot has been done” for the “reform of the justice sector” during his two-year tenure.
Pashinian has still not commented on the demands for Minasian’s resignation and his eventual decision to quit. The premier had appointed the 40-year-old lawyer as justice minister in 2022 despite the fact that the latter’s father Ara and brother Mikael fled Armenia in 2018 to avoid prosecution on corruption charges.
Mikael Minasian is a son-in-law of former President Serzh Sarkisian. He enjoyed considerable political and economic influence in the country during Sarkisian’s rule.
Grigor Minasian has claimed to have severed all contact with his fugitive relatives and pledged full allegiance to the current Armenian government. Many Pashinian supporters have reportedly been unconvinced by his assurances.
Arpi Davoyan, a Civil Contract lawmaker who reportedly initiated the signature collection, declined to comment on his resignation when she was approached by journalists. Davoyan said only that she believes the next justice minister should be a “member of our political team.”
Minasian is a close friend and business partner of Karen Andreasian, the head of Armenia’s Supreme Judicial Council. Over the past two years, the two men have engineered the dismissals of dozens of judges who fell foul of the Armenian authorities. Opposition leaders and legal experts have condemned the sackings as a further blow to judicial independence in the country.
A spokeswoman for Andreasian said later on Tuesday that he has no intention to follow Minasian’s example and resign.
