RA Prosecutor General’s Office: Ombudsman’s statement is purely a
self-affirmation attempt

2

YEREVAN, MARCH 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Responding to RA Ombudsman Armen
Haroutiunian’s 2008 annual report introduced on March 10, RA Prosecutor
General’s Office Press Service made a statement the same day, which
read:

"Any statement, estimation, especially voiced by the Ombudsman, should
be based on the legislation and on concrete facts. However, remaining
loyal to his working style, the Ombudsman, in partucular, in his
estimations regarding Prosecutor’s Office work and activity always
refrains from mentioning concrete cases grounding them or permitting
him to draw such a conclusion, which gives a basis to suppose that the
Ombudsman is just doing his personal promotion. The provision on
Prosecutor’s Office work mentioned in Ombudsman’s report confirms that.

According to it, 42 application-complaints against RA Prosecutor’s
Office employees’ actions were addressed to the RA Ombudsman in the
period under review, 26 out of which were accepted for examination. The
Prosecutor’s Office itself has repeatedly voiced the shortcomings by
undertaking concrete steps to liquidate the shortcomings, the
violations. However, the Prosecutor’s Office is far from the thought
that 42 application-complaints received all over the year gives the
Ombudsman a basis to present Prosecutor’s Office as a repressive
structure without mentioning any concrete facts and methods. Moreover,
even when mentioning the application-complaints’ content the Ombudsman
in his annual report did not mention any concrete case of using a
"repressive" method.

Not only dereliction of duties, but also abuses are possible in the
work of Prosecutor’s Office officials like officials in any other
structure. And Prosecutor’s Office leadership has repeatedly confirmed
its resolution to call for liability any prosecutor abusing his
official powers by undertaking concrete steps.

Moreover, with the expectation and purpose of mutually beneficial
partnership the Prosecutor’s Office has publicly proposed the Ombudsman
mentioning the names of prosecutors giving illegal orders, committing
violations of law, as well as concrete facts to undertake proper
measures and to pass them for examination by the order established by
the law. However, Ombudsman’s Office so far has not provided any
concrete fact, name of a prosecutor committing a violation."