The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on Friday decided to impeach its president who has been under fire since March over a controversial visit to Syria.
Pedro Agramunt (EPP Group), who is also widely perceived as a pro-Azerbaijani lobbyist, was expected to announce his resignation on Friday in accordance with the established rules of procedure. But the Assembly Bureau had to impeach him in absentia as he didn’t attend the Spring Session, Samvel Farmanyan, a member of the Armenian national delegation, told Tert.am.
He added that the Assembly will have to pass an urgent measure to sack Agramunt if he persists demonstrating an evasive behavior.
“The PACE has now ‘initiated’ a backstage political plan. With no other choice left, the only thing to do is to persuade Pedro Agramunt’s family not to receive him in Spain,” Farmanyan said, describing the recent developments as a political disgrace.
He added that Agramut’s conduct will be on the agenda of the EPP General Assembly set to be held in Brussels.
The proposal to impeach him received support by 27 Assembly members; only three, including Spanish and Azerbaijani representatives, refrained from voting.
Agramunt has repeatedly faced criticism for covering up the human rights abuses in Azerbaijan in return for valuable gifts from the country’s ruling clan (President Ilham Aliyev’s family).