The Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia, under the chairmanship of Rubik Mkhitaryan, rejected the appeal of the Prosecutor General’s Office against the decision to reject the motion to select arrest as a pre-trial measure against leader of Homeland Party, former director of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan. This is what Vanetsyan’s attorney Yervand Varosyan said during a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Varosyan stated that even though he has yet to receive the court’s decision, he is more than certain that the Criminal Court of Appeal has considered yet another substantiated suspicion as refuted.

Alongside the protests that have been launched in Yerevan against Pashinyan’s decision to transfer the territories of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Azerbaijan, criminal cases have been launched under the elements of organizing of protests and the preparation of the alleged murder of Pashinyan. Several dozens of opposition members and public figures have been detained, and charges have been brought against some of them for organizing and holding rallies in violation of the law, while Artur Vanetsyan, Vahram Baghdasaryan and Ashot Avagya, legendary commander Ashot Minasyan have also been charged with usurpation of power, preparation of the alleged murder of Pashinyan, keeping illegal weapons and ammunition, and motions for their arrest have been submitted to court and rejected.

The Court not only deemed the detention of Artur Vanetsyan, Vahram Baghdasaryan and Ashot Avagyan to be unlawful and rendered a decision to release them from custody, but also stated that there are no grounds for detention.