Petros Makyan, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), disagrees with the claims that arrest decisions have become more frequent and that this has become a means of punishment in Armenia.

"If we look at the statistics of the last 5 years, the number of detainees and convicts in Armenia has been 4,500-5,000 for years; [but] today it's barely 2,000. The percentage of arrests has dropped very drastically," Makyan told reporters Wednesday before the meeting of the General Assembly of Judges.

To the remark that perhaps arrest orders are made more often in cases with a political resonance, he responded: "Why don't you also say that this or that person was released in this or that political or high-profile case? They render all this to silence, but the arrests cause a great resonance."

And when asked whether he is afraid of vetting, Petros Makyan answered: "Of course not."