On Wednesday morning, the Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia denied the defense lawyers' motion to release Goris city mayor Arush Arushanyan on bail, and therefore he will remain in pretrial custody

The defense attorneys had told the court that if being released, Arushanyan would not obstruct the ongoing investigation of the criminal case against him, and that the respective risk had considerably decreased.

Arush Arushanyan is remanded in custody, and he is charged with committing electoral fraud in favor of the opposition "Armenia" Bloc—led by second President Robert Kocharyan—during the snap parliamentary elections on June 20, 2021. But Arushanyan does not accept the charge brought against him, and his attorneys consider the respective criminal cases as political persecution against their client.