Armenia's first-ever human-rights ombudsman, Larisa Alaverdian, appealed on 5 January to Armenia's Constitutional Court to overturn President Robert Kocharian's decision to appoint a caretaker body to replace her until a new ombudsman is selected by parliament, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Although the recently adopted set of constitutional amendments stipulates that the position of ombudsman be elected by the legislature, it fails to indicate when the election should be held. Alaverdian, who was appointed by Kocharian, appealed on 26 December to parliamentary speaker Artur Baghdasarian to be allowed to continue in office until such an election is held, but was denied. Her relationship with Kocharian became strained after her office published reports critical of the government's human-rights record and its crackdown on opposition demonstrators in 2004. RG Cited in: Armenian Human Rights Ombudsman Vows to Fight Dismissal, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 6 January 2006.
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