A protest rally is being held in front of the Armenian appeal court demanding the immediate release of the 5th Channel owner Armen Tavadyan.

Armen Tavadyan was detained in connection with the case of Varuzhan Mkrtchyan, a supporter of Armenia's second President Robert Kocharyan. Mkrtchyan has been charged under the Criminal Code with bribing a witness or an injured party to give false testimony on a crime committed by a criminal group. According to police, Varuzhan Mkrtchyan had called one of the victims of the March 1, 2008 events to his office and proposed to this person to decline from the victim's status and the testimony given and not go to court hearings, saying he was ready to pay this person the money the state would provide as financial aid.