Human rights activist Larisa Alaverdyan denounced Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s “illegal” appointment of a new chief of the army’s General Staff as a “crime against the national security.”

At a news conference on Thursday, she stated for the first time in the history of independent Armenia the appointment of a new army chief has run counter to the law, adding everyone, including new Chief of the General Staff Artak Davtyan, knows about it.

Larisa Alaverdyan noted that she is no longer surprised by Nikol Pashinyan's moves, but expressed regret that the people who previously “enjoyed respect” are now involved in illegal activity.

"This is a crime against the state. What Artak Davtyan has done so far cannot even be compared to the fact that he accepted Nikol Pashinyan's illegal proposal to became the General Staff chief. The principle of the Nuremberg trials applies here, that is, the person carrying out an illegal order is also a criminal," she said.

Alaverdyan called for establishment of a national civil tribunal to probe all the “illegalities” committed by the current authorities and present their consequences.

"There are still lost people, and if a tribunal is set up, it will simply list all the crimes committed by this government and will present the consequences,” she said.

The human rights activist noted that so far Armenia has not made any official assessment of the Azerbaijani aggression and genocidal actions in the recent Artsakh war.

"Following the international practice, the tribunal can investigate it all. This Armenian tribunal will reveal all the crimes," Alaverdyan said.