The newspaper “Zhoghovurd” has raised concerns and conducted confidential interviews with Chief Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Anna Vardapetyan. It has come to light that on February 12, 2024, an illicit manipulation occurred, resulting in the changing of the personal appointment of Aleen Simonian, Chief Secretary of the Republic of Armenia, to Ani Gevorgyan, the wife of the former President. The newspaper is demanding an explanation as to why similar actions have been taken with other political figures and urges a change in the selection process for confidential appointments. They have also requested examples of similar precedents or an explanation for the sudden change in response based on the political position of a high-ranking member of the Chief Justice’s family.

In response to these inquiries, the Republic of Armenia’s judiciary has revealed that between 2018 and 2023, a total of 429 undisclosed appointments were made through the manipulation of personal appointments as a means of maintaining confidentiality. These appointments were made in varying numbers each year, with 147 occurring in 2018, 137 in 2019, 73 in 2020, 14 in 2021, 18 in 2022, and 40 in 2023. However, there is currently no information available regarding Anna Vardapetyan’s response to the specific inquiries about Ani Gevorgyan, as the Chief Justice has been avoiding the media and has been released from her appointment.

This situation is particularly concerning, especially considering the significant increase in releases from confidential appointments in 2018 compared to 2023. While there were 147 releases in 2018, there were only 40 in 2023. The newspaper “Zhoghovurd” encourages readers to visit News.am for more detailed information on today’s issue.