ANC: The Armenian authorities violated the RA Constitution, and  Daniel Ioannisyan assumed the role of a lawyer for their illegal  actions

ArmInfo.  The Armenian authorities have violated the RA Constitution, and Daniel Ioannisyan has assumed the role of a lawyer for their unlawful actions, as noted in a statement issued by the  Armenian National Congress's legal  commission.

The document mentioned that on October 16, the ANC released a  statement denouncing the new wave of repression against the Armenian  Apostolic Church. Touching upon the charges  against the Primate of  the Aragatsotn Diocese, Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan, the Armenian  National Congress  particularly pointed out that they were based on  an article of the Criminal Code that wasn't in effect  at the time of  alleged crime, that is, in 2021. The new edition of the Criminal  Code,  which included the mentioned article, only entered into force   on July 1, 2022.

"Therefore, assessing the act under the new edition of the Criminal  Code constitutes a gross violation of Article 72 of the Constitution  of the Republic of Armenia. Indeed, Article 163 of the previous Code  (Part 2) provided for criminal liability only for "coercion to  participate in lawful assemblies with the use of violence or the  threat of violence." Daniel Ioannisyan's statement on the alleged  act, the committed crime, lacks any mention of violence or  threats  Consequently; this could not serve as the basis for the charge.  Meanwhile, the alleged act that served as the basis for the charge,  namely Article 236, Part 3 of the new Criminal Code (coercion to  participate in an assembly), "committed through the use of official  or official powers or the influence caused by them," is criminalized  only by the new edition of the Criminal Code. Therefore, in 2021, it  was not considered a crime and could not serve as the basis for  initiating a criminal case,"  the ANC legal commission's statement  emphasized.

The authors of the document believe that by bringing charges against  Bishop Mkrtich Proshyan and those associated with him, the  authorities have grossly violated Article 72 of the RA Constitution,  and Daniel Ioannisyan has assumed the role of not only the "chief  advocate of the authorities," but also someone who misinforms the  society, justifies, and conceals the authorities' unlawful actions.