YEREVAN. – It was clear from the court's ruling that the charge, and the arrest I was in were completely unlawful and unfounded. Armen Tavadyan, the owner of 5th Channel television of Armenia, stated this during a meeting with reporters.

"I assume all this was done to put pressure on the media, one of which I own; this is pressure on freedom of speech, "he said." For me, all this will not go away smoothly; soon there may be new attempts, new criminal cases. They are pointless actions; I will stay on my path."

"What I was accused of had nothing to do with me, at all" Tavadyan added. “I affirm that I am friend of [second] President [Robert] Kocharyan. It is a great honor for me to be President Kocharyan's friend. It is this fact that brings about that there is a political component in everything that is happening around me. (…). I will fight because I realize that there is political persecution against Kocharyan. I will do everything to prove it and that President Kocharyan is set free."

Recently, the court granted the appeal by the legal defenders of 5th Channel television Armen Tavadyan against extending his arrest as a pretrial measure. On December 24 of the year past, Tavadyan was arrested on suspicion of an organized group bribing a witness, or a victim, to give false testimony in connection with the criminal case on the events that occurred in Yerevan on March 1, 2008.