Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 24.12.2019:

·       The Yerevan Court of First Instance has granted the petition to reconfirm the detention that was selected as the pretrial measure against Narek Sargsyan, the nephew of Armenia's third President Serzh Sargsyan, press service said in a statement.

Narek Sargsyan was extradited from the Czech Republic to Armenia last week.

The criminal case against Narek Sargsyan was initiated on June 26 and he was declared wanted on July 6. He was charged with obtaining, keeping, transporting and trading illegal weapons, armaments, explosive devices, as well as carrying out illegal movement and trade of narcotics.

·       Police have detained Davit Apoyan, President of the Student Council of Yerevan State University (YSU), and taken him to a police station, YSU Student Affairs Center Director Vahagn Varagyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to Varagyan, Apoyan was illegally detained and had not been notified in advance.

"They came and detained him, without any grounds, from his office, with handcuffs, as if he were a criminal," he said.

·       The prosecutor overseeing the legality of the investigation has decided not to confirm the indictment for former parliament’s speaker Ara Babloyan, and former Armenian Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Arsen Babayan, said Arevik Khachatryan, spokesperson for the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia.

According to her, instructions have been given to conduct additional investigations into the circumstances and on December 13, the case was sent to the supervising prosecutor with the motion to send it to court.

By the way, Babloyan is accused of usurping the powers of the CC with a group of officials, as well as committing official fraud, and Babayan is charged with assisting Babloyan, as well as committing official fraud.

·       Russian ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin held a year-end press conference on Monday.

Asked to comment on the issue of possible sale of Su-57 to Azerbaijan, he said: “it’s hard for me to comment on the reports in the media.

Meanwhile, he touched upon the Armenian-Russian relations.

According to him, the year 2020 will be a special year for the peoples of Russia and Armenia since next year we will be marking the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

“It is very important for the Prime Minister of Armenia to confirm his participation in the festivities to be held on May 9 in Moscow,” he said.

He also noted that Russia and Russian businesses are closely following the events taking place in Armenia. Moreover, according to him, Armenia as a sovereign state can choose its partners and consultants, including external consultants.

·       An Armenian man dressed up as Santa Claus riding a paddleboard appeared near the beach of Tel Aviv.

Harout Torossian, an Israeli lifeguard from the Armenian Orthodox Christian minority dressed up as Santa Claus, standup paddleboards along a beach in the Mediterranean coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv as Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the holy day, AFP reported.