YEREVAN. – The Criminal Court of Appeal on Monday denied the motion to change the restraint order against opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) activist Tigran Arakelyan.  

In turn Arakelyan noted that when he had heard that the presiding judge was an Armenian woman, an Armenian mother, he had become happy. Furthermore, he wanted to come to the court with flowers.

But, “the [judge’s] verdict came to prove yet again that we are doing the right thing by fighting; [and] why not, also to restore the image of the Armenian woman, the Armenian mother,” he added.        

The trial is in progress. 

The protest in front of the court continues, too. The demonstrators call for the immediate release of their fellow activist.   

To note, a general jurisdiction court had sentenced ANC activists Tigran Arakelyan, Artak Karapetyan, Sargis Gevorgyan, and Davit Kiramijyan to six, three, and two years, respectively, as a result of an incident that had occurred on August 9, 2011, in capital city Yerevan. The Criminal Court of Appeals had upheld this ruling, and therefore the activists’ attorneys had submitted to the Court of Cassation their objections to this verdict. As a result, six of the young activists were released on signature bond, whereas Arakelyan had remained under arrest.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am