SJC chief grilled over Pashinyan's remarks in Karapetyan case

At a parliament session on Wednesday, opposition Hayastan faction MP Anna Grigoryan pressed Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Chairman Artur Atabekyan over a recent social media post by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan concerning businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan.

Grigoryan cited Pashinyan’s post, in which he wrote, “now I will intervene in my own way,” noting that Karapetyan was taken into custody shortly afterward. She asked Atabekyan whether the prime minister’s statement amounted to direct interference in the judiciary.

In response, Atabekyan stated that judges, including himself, must disregard external statements or commentary and remain focused solely on their responsibilities.

Grigoryan repeated her question, but Atabekyan refrained from giving a clear answer.