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Chairman of Armenia’s Union of Judges Alexander Azaryan urges the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a state body overseeing Armenian courts, to take measures to hold Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan to account for his “offensive” remarks about judges.

In a statement on Friday, he accused the minister of “labelling” judges and downgrading the authority of the judicial power in his recent interviews in violation of the rules of conduct for civil servants.

“Karen Andreasyan’s statements hurt the dignity of courts and judges and violate the basic rules of etiquette,” he stated.

“They are so politically motivated that raise doubts over the impartiality of the public service provided by Andreasyan by virtue of his office. Moreover, they run counter to the requirements of Armenia’s Criminal Procedure Code,” Azaryan said, citing several articles of the Armenian laws.

He urged the SJC to raise the issue of bringing the minister to account in order to “deter his illegal behavior”.

In an interview to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on February 15, Andreasyan stated at least 40 of the country’s judges are “corrupt” and must go.