The decision by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) published on Monday concerns Vahe Dolmazian, the judge of the Anti-Corruption Court, presiding over the trials of former Defense Minister David Tonoyan and opposition leader Armen Ashotian.
Justice Minister Grigor Minasian initiated the proceedings last August after Tonoyan was allowed to testify to a parliamentary committee probing the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The minister accused the judge of violating the norms of procedural law by allowing Tonoyan to appear at the committee session in parliament without handcuffs, and also setting a time limit for his returning to prison, which “Tonoyan took advantage of and visited his mother.”
Having examined the petition, the SJC concluded that the judge did not use any wording that could be considered as a violation of procedural norms.
“Furthermore, according to the judge’s decision, setting a reasonable period for the purpose of granting a short-term leave, as well as the note about carrying out the escort without handcuffs, did not contradict the legal regulations described in the petition,” said SJC Chairman Karen Andreasian, who read out the Council’s decision.
“The action of the judge could not and did not discredit the judicial authority in any way, nor did it reduce public confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judicial authority,” he added.
On August 1, 2023, Tonoyan, who held the post of Armenia’s defense minister in 2018-2020, answered questions regarding the armament and readiness of Armenia for the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as management of the Armed Forces.
Tonoyan was arrested in 2021 in a criminal investigation into supplies of allegedly outdated rockets to Armenia’s armed forces. He denies the accusation.
Dolmuzian also presides over the trial of opposition leader Ashotian, an influential figure during former President Serzh Sarkisian’s rule who served as education minister in 2012-2016.
Ashotian, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, is charged with abuse of power and money laundering. He denies the charges.
As recently as last month Judge Dolmuzian refused to move Ashotian to house arrest despite hefty bail offered by the defendant and guarantees of his “proper behavior” formally offered by two former speakers of the Armenian parliament. The judge ordered that the oppositionist remain in custody for another three months, sparking further claims by the parliamentary opposition about Ashotian’s “politically motivated” imprisonment.
In July, in a move demanded by the Armenian government, the SJC fired Yerevan court judge Anna Danibekian for her handling of former President Robert Kocharian’s marathon trial that ended without a verdict last December.
The judicial oversight body then said that Judge Danibekian “contributed to the expiration of the statute of limitations in the case of Robert Kocharian and to the termination of the criminal proceedings against him.”
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