The society has to take appropriate measures to make people like [Republican MP and multi-millionaire businessman] Ruben Hayrapetyan resign from parliament, Zaruhi Postanjyan, a lawmaker of the opposition Heritage party, finds.

As she told reporters on Friday, it is very important that people like Hayrapetyan avoid representing the Armenian society in parliament.

“This has to be an on-going process. Ruben Hayrapetyan is not the only one in the National Assembly,” she said, adding that individuals like him should have nothing to do with legislative work.

It comes after military doctor Vahe Avetyan was mercilessly beaten at the Harsnaqar restaurant owned by the Republican lawmaker. One of the security guards involved in the scuffle was later claimed to be Hayrapetyan’s personal bodyguard. Avetyan died in hospital last Friday after remaining unconscious for twelve days. The incident sparked a major protest, with different activists’ groups calling for a fair punishment against the perpetrators. Hayrapetyan, who is also the president of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA), later declared his intention to quit his seat in parliament. He submitted his resignation notice to the National Assembly on Wednesday.

The Heritage MP noted that Hayrapetyan decided to lay down his mandate amid a public outrage.

“This is the first ever case that an official has resigned under public pressure. Perhaps, it wasn’t his own decision. and he did not write the statement, but he put his signature below it. That stemmed from a public demand. We must be a society demanding responsibility from everyone and never restricting ourselves to one person or one case,” she added.