SACRED IMMUNITY: SRBUHI GALYAN — PASHINYAN'S SOLDIER
In less than ten years, Srbuhi Galyan has traveled the path from chief specialist of the Special Investigation Service to Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. Her rapid advancement coincided with Nikol Pashinyan's team's coming to power. In December 2024, she became the first Armenian representative to receive the U.S. Department of State's Anticorruption Champions Awards. However, the rise of the minister's career is accompanied by numerous questions concerning political patronage, her family's connections with representatives of the former authorities, her husband's business interests, and the personnel policy being implemented in the Ministry of Justice. ANI's investigation shows to what extent Galyan's public image corresponds to the facts.
1. Career Formation and Political Patrons
Srbuhi Galyan was born in 1992 in Yerevan. She graduated from the bachelor's and master's programs in law at Yerevan State University, and has been teaching at the Department of Criminal Law since 2015. She began her professional career in private companies in 2014, and in 2015 was appointed chief specialist of the Legal Department of the Special Investigation Service.
After the change of government in 2018, her career accelerated sharply: in 2019 she became Deputy Minister of Justice, in 2020 Deputy Prosecutor General responsible for cases concerning the confiscation of property of illicit origin, and in November 2024 she was appointed Minister of Justice.
Political Connections
Her mother, Artemis Keshkeryan, was a member of the Republican Party of Armenia, headed Yerevan School No. 101, and had close relations with former Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan and former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Hermine Naghdalyan.
Sasun Khachatryan, the newly appointed head of the Special Investigation Service after the revolution, was considered Galyan's patron. It was during his tenure that Galyan received an official promotion, unlike many colleagues who lost their positions.
Roustam Badasyan — former Minister of Justice and former Chairman of the State Revenue Committee. According to publications by 168.am and the Hraparak daily newspaper, it was Badasyan who, through Tigran Avinyan, lobbied for Galyan to be appointed minister. After her appointment, Galyan planned to transfer to the Ministry of Justice those SRC employees who were connected to Badasyan. Subsequently, Nerses Zeynalyan, an adviser to the Chairman of the SRC, was indeed appointed as Minister Galyan's adviser.
Family and Business Interests: Connections with the Former Authorities
In 2020, when Galyan was appointed Deputy Prosecutor General responsible for property-related cases, doubts arose in professional circles regarding her impartiality. The reason was her family's long-standing connections with the close circle of Hovhannes Hovsepyan, an influential official during Serzh Sargsyan's rule and former head of the Control Service and the State Revenue Committee.
Galyan's husband, Petros Mkryan, was a member of Hovsepyan's personal security detail, while his father, Simon Mkryan, worked as Hovsepyan's driver.
Petros Mkryan's Business Assets (as of 2019)
- LogInvest CJSC (charter capital: AMD 64.6 million) — a company constructing a residential complex in Verin Antarayin.
- Mariof CJSC (AMD 755,000).
- Petrov LLC (AMD 272 million), which was later reorganized into Petrov CJSC.
- Vazian CJSC (AMD 3.2 million).
The total charter capital amounted to AMD 340.6 million.
Multimillion-Dram Loans (2019–2020)
Mkryan provided loans to affiliated companies totaling more than AMD 807 million. As of the end of 2019, the outstanding obligation amounted to AMD 422.3 million:
- LogInvest — AMD 140.1 million,
- Mariof — AMD 9.755 million,
- Petrov — AMD 272.39 million.
In 2020, Mkryan provided a AMD 230 million loan to Edgar Titizyan, the owner of the Alliance company, which had previously belonged to Hovhannes Hovsepyan. Titizyan was also the owner of 90 percent of the shares in Property Solutions.
The Chain of Asset Transfers
In 2024, Petros Mkryan exited the capital of LogInvest, Mariof, and Vazian, transferring his shares to Vahe Petrosyan, who subsequently resold them to Hayk Davtyan, former adviser to former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan (currently under investigation). Thus, all three companies came under the control of the same circle of individuals.
State Benefits and Family Income
City Central LLC, where Petros Mkryan received an official salary (AMD 5.1 million in 2019 and AMD 4.2 million in 2020), is also connected to Hayk Davtyan and Vahe Petrosyan.
In 2019, by a decision of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan, the company received a AMD 9.6 million VAT tax benefit.
In June 2023, the staff of the National Assembly signed a AMD 1 million contract with City Central for the provision of hotel services ("Ramada" hotel) for parliamentary delegations.
Galyan's Property Declarations
In 2019, Galyan and Mkryan purchased two apartments from LogInvest for a total of AMD 324 million (AMD 117.6 million and AMD 206.4 million).
Galyan's declarations include interest-free loans provided by Address company (AMD 6.5 million in 2025).
Galyan's income:
- approximately AMD 10 million in 2019,
- AMD 28.4 million from the Prosecutor General's Office in 2023,
- AMD 26.7 million as minister in 2025.
Her 2025 declaration also included AMD 12 million in Unibank bonds.
The mortgage loan remains outstanding, with a balance of AMD 31–35 million.
Personnel Policy and Criticism
Immediately after Galyan was appointed minister, publications appeared in 168.am and Hraparak concerning "personnel purges" being carried out in the ministry.
In particular:
- deputy ministers and heads of departments were dismissed,
- Anna Karapetyan was appointed deputy minister; according to media reports, she is connected to the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Kristine Grigoryan, and is the wife of a member of the Competition Protection Commission,
- it was reported that around 60 percent of vacant positions in the ministry remain unfilled because specialists refuse to work with Galyan,
- Emil Margaryan, director of the Agency for Expertise of Legal Acts, was dismissed, while attempts were also made to dismiss Davit Gulyan, director of the "Expertise Center," and Marina Yaylakhanian, head of the Civil Status Acts Registration Agency.
Constitutional Reform: Promises Without a Draft
The Ministry of Justice headed by Galyan is coordinating the work on drafting a new Constitution.
In February 2026, Galyan promised to publish the draft in March, but it was never presented.
In June 2026, she stated that publication would take place after receiving the comments of the working group. When asked whether the reference to the Declaration of Independence had been preserved in the draft (which is of important significance from the perspective of negotiations with Azerbaijan), the minister replied: "When it is published, you will see for yourselves."
Financial Scandals and Social Sensitivity
Government Bonuses (January 2026)
Galyan received a AMD 6–7 million bonus, but when journalists asked her about it, she responded: "I don't remember whether it was six or seven million."
This response triggered a wave of criticism in society, where such an amount is the equivalent of one year's income for many people.
The story of Galyan's father, Hovhannes Galyan, also came under public attention. By court decision, he was paying alimony to his adult daughter, Asmik Mkrtchyan, who had been recognized as incapacitated. Journalists asked whether Srbuhi helped her sister after receiving her large bonus, but the question remained unanswered.
Law on Additional Payments to Constitutional Court Judges
In March 2026, Galyan presented a bill providing for additional payments for long-term service to the President, Vice President, and judges of the Constitutional Court.
The law was adopted through an accelerated procedure in just two days.
In 2026, the additional expenditure from the state budget amounted to AMD 46.8 million, including:
- AMD 7.8 million for the President,
- AMD 5.8 million for the Vice President,
- AMD 33.2 million for the seven judges.
The payments began in June, on the eve of the parliamentary elections.
The Story of the Detention of a Mother and Her Eight-Month-Old Child
On July 11, 2026, Judge Arshak Matevosyan detained Liana Harutyunyan for three months on charges of assisting illegal migration. An eight-month-old child was also transferred to the penitentiary institution with her and was subsequently hospitalized. The defense applied to the European Court of Human Rights.
Five days later, Galyan and the Head of the Penitentiary Service, Tsovinar Tadevosyan, visited the medical center. Galyan stated that all necessary conditions had been created at the facility and published photographs of the cell. Lawyer Zarui Postanjyan, however, claimed the opposite.
On July 17, the court changed the preventive measure, replacing it with administrative supervision.
The question of why such a strict preventive measure was initially chosen remained unanswered.
Conclusion
Srbuhi Galyan's career is an example of rapid advancement that became possible thanks to loyalty demonstrated toward the authorities and the support of influential figures, Sasun Khachatryan and Roustam Badasyan. However, behind this success are close family ties with influential circles of the former authorities (Hovhannes Hovsepyan), her husband's business interests, multimillion-dram loans, benefits provided by the government, and property transactions, which the minister explains in her public statements exclusively as the result of her own work and education.
The position of Minister of Justice presupposes serving the law, rather than merely the political will. The story of the detention of a mother and a young child showed that Galyan acted more as a defender of the system than as a guarantor of human rights. "A soldier follows orders. The Minister of Justice is obliged to serve the law. This is precisely where the dividing line between Pashinyan's soldier and the Minister of Justice of Armenia lies."