The court of general jurisdiction of Syunik Province of Armenia on Monday announced its verdict in the criminal cases against arrested mayor Arush Arushanyan of Goris city.

Accordingly, was found guilty under Article 308, Section 1 of the Criminal Code, and deprived of the right to hold administrative office in local  government bodies for 5 years.

In addition, he was found guilty under Article 322, Section 2 of the Criminal Code, and fined 700 times the monthly minimum wage in Armenia.

Arushanyan was found guilty also under Article 113, Section 2, Clauses 3 and 6 of the Criminal Code, and was sentenced to prison, which, however, was commuted, and he was released immediately from the courtroom.

The prosecution had motioned to find Arushanyan guilty and sentence him to 9 years and 6 months in prison. The defense, however, had motioned to acquit him.

Arush Arushanyan had been remanded in custody, and he was 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 did not accept the charge brought against him, and his attorneys considered the respective criminal cases as political persecution against their client.