YEREVAN. – The court session on the criminal case against Aram Harutyunyan, head of the opposition National Accord party of Armenia, started Monday at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan.

The prosecution publicized Harutyunyan's indictment. But the defendant stated that he does not plead guilty and that the charge was not clear to him.

Aram Harutyunyan's attorney, Sergey Harutyunyan, motioned the court to lift his client’s pretrial measure of a signature bond not to leave the country.

According to the investigator, Harutyunyan is suspected of committing a crime of medium gravity, and that he may be hiding from the body conducting the proceedings, so it is necessary to remand him in custody.

The defense stated that this basis is not a sufficient criterion for the decision to restrict a person's right to free movement.

The court left that motion unchanged and decided to return Harutyunyan's passport.

Aram Harutyunyan's lawyer submitted another motion that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan be recognized as an injured party in this case and be summoned for questioning.

And according to Aram Harutyunyan himself, Pashinyan has strengthened his security service from the moment he made such a statement.

The court, however, denied the aforesaid motion. "Even if a specific person is recognized as an injured party, it is meaningless to question him because according to the law, the injured party is questioned in connection with the circumstances he knows—has seen, heard, and the damage allegedly caused to him," stated the presiding judge.

The court proceeded to examine the documents in the case, after which they will examine the videos and question the defendant.

According to the indictment, in a video posted on YouTube, Aram Harutyunyan has voiced calls to publicly justify violence against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Harutyunyan has been charged under the Criminal Code article on making public calls for using violence, and publicly justifying or preaching violence.