We must not turn into a dictatorship: Pashinyan speaks about criminal cases initiated against former officials

Political 24 November, 2023 14:54

After the velvet revolution of 2018 and the tragic events of 2020 (the war in Nagorno-Karabakh), the biggest conclusion after the extraordinary parliamentary elections is that the most important demand of RA citizens is justice, to have justice in the country. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced said at a live press conference, answering the questions of Armenian citizens and Diaspora Armenian compatriots. "When justice is restored, legal punishments will be imposed on former presidents Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, former prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan, as well as business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan," he said.

"I must admit that many criminal and not only criminal cases are an indicator of justice. I would not like to refer to individuals now. For some people these personalities are indicators, for others are for other people. [The assumption is that] If these people are free, then there is no justice in Armenia, as soon as they are deprived of their freedom, then there will be justice in the country. After the revolution, we had the opportunity to go together with the people gathered in the square and do justice on the spot according to our vision. Perhaps, this would be a consolation, but today we would have faced a serious problem, the fact of destroyed state structures. However, I think that justice should be institutional. This should not be done by the government or the people gathered in the square at their own discretion... We should not turn into a dictatorship, now we are resisting threats thanks to democracy. I am not evading the answer, but the mechanism of returning illegally acquired property has been launched, the law enforcement system will be consistent, and in the end justice will win," said Pashinyan. He also expressed confidence that the criminals will be punished: "Criminals will not escape anywhere and will be punished."