The opposition "Armenia" Faction, led by second President Robert Kocharyan, on Monday issued a statement on the re-arrest of Armen Charchyan, former director of Izmirlian Medical Center of Yerevan and an MP of this faction in the National Assembly.

“Judge Rubik Mkhitaryan of the Criminal Court of Appeal, carrying out [PM] Nikol Pashinyan's direct political instruction, decided to arrest—with legal permissiveness—Professor Armen Charchyan, an MP of the ‘Armenia’ Faction of the National Assembly, who has been in freedom for a month, has always behaved properly.

Viewing arrest as the only form of precautionary measure in political cases is the stable signature of these authorities, violating the constitutional and legal principles on the right to human freedom. This is due to the extreme fears of one person [i.e., Pashinyan].

On the day of the Declaration of Independence, the authorities fighting against our independence have decided to hold three MPs of the ‘Armenia’ Faction in the status of a hostage. With the mentioned, our society was once again convinced in these authorities’ adopting another false and fake agenda of public solidarity.

We do not consider it a coincidence that this disgraceful decision was made before the presentation of the tense border situation and the [new] government's program. Our response to these illegalities will be equivalent," reads the statement.