As the term of Arman Tatoyan, a critic of the government, ends, former Deputy Minister of Justice Kristine Grigoryan has been elected as Armenia's next Human Rights Defender.
Grigoryan has been working in politics since 2009, when she was appointed as a parliamentary assistant at the age of 29. She worked as an assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during the 2018 revolution until being named Deputy Minister of Justice in July 2019.
Grigoryan had a prominent role in the recent police reforms, which included the introduction of a separate traffic patrol agency, as Deputy Minister of Justice.
They claim she may be limited in her capacity to discharge her duties without prejudice because she was elected exclusively based on votes from the ruling Civil Contract party and served as a deputy minister under the Pashinyan administration.
She vowed not to restrain herself in addressing human rights concerns in the nation and to be sharp in her evaluations during the debate in parliament that preceded the decision to nominate Grigoryan.
On February 23, Arman Tatoyan's six-year stint as Human Rights Defender comes to an end. The next day, Grigoryan would formally take his seat in the role. After sharply criticising the government's handling of border conflicts with Azerbaijan, Armenia's ruling Civil Contract party stated its decision not to renew Tatoyan's term in October 2021.
In reaction, Armen Grigoryan, the head of Armenia's National Security Service, accused Tatoyan of being prejudiced and speaking against the revolution.
