Armen Smbatyan, the former ambassador of Armenia to Israel and Russia, and his son Sergey Smbatyan, the artistic director and chief conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, are being held in the Armavir Penitentiary. This information was provided by the penitentiary service in response to a written request of Sputnik Armenia.

"Armen and Sergey Smbatyan are kept in different [prison] cells, as by the decision of the court of general jurisdiction of the city of Yerevan, the right of arrested person Sergey Smbatyan to communicate with arrested person Armen Smbatyan has been restricted," the response said.

It added that they are kept in prison cells with other persons. However, according to Sputnik Armenia, their cellmates are not former officials or former law enforcement officers, but ordinary prisoners.

On July 30, it became known that former ambassador Armen Smbatyan and his son, conductor Sergey Smbatyan, were arrested.

Armen Smbatyan was charged with organizing large-scale fraud, and Sergey Smbatyan and a businessman—with large-scale fraud.

A number of Armenian cultural figures, famous athletes and physicians have submitted a petition to Prosecutor General of Armenia Anna Vardapetyan, asking her to have Sergey Smbatyan released from detention. The prosecutor's office is going to consider the petitions to commute the preventive measure chosen against him from detention to non-custodial detention.