YEREVAN. – Public defender Rafik Safaryan, who carries out the legal defense of Davit Vardanyan, the arrested son of Armenia’s Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Yuri Vardanyan, had told Iravunk daily that Davit cannot read or write in Armenian, the daily recalls.

“And the minister was quite hard toward that claim by the defender. And [, in response,] the defender had repeated just about what he had told us.

“We tried to verify from Mr. Vardanyan as to whether he will apologize to the public defender. [But he replied(inlove)  

‘“He, who declares that my son does not know Armenian, is not my son’s [legal] defender.’

“[And] public defender Safaryan’s explanation in this connection was very clear:

‘“They have written a petition and refused from the public defender. But I still have not been formally informed about it.’ 

“So, it seems Mr. Vardanyan is trying to help his son after all, albeit hiring an attorney is a lawful assistance,” Iravunk writes.     

To note, Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Yuri Vardanyan’s eldest son, Davit Vardanyan, 29, was arrested on the Iran-Armenia border recently. He was detained while attempting to smuggle drugs at the border. Subsequently, he was arrested and sent to a detention center in capital city Yerevan. A criminal case is opened against Davit Vardanyan, and on charges of illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs.