YEREVAN. – The examination of the National Security Service’s (NSS) petition to remand Gagik Tsarukyan—chairman of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), MP, and business tycoon— in custody has been put off at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan.

Tsarukyan's attorneys have motioned for the self-recusal of presiding Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan. Yerem Sargsyan, one of the lawyers, on Friday said this in a conversation with journalists (PHOTOS).

The court has left to make a decision

"We have clear factual information that the employees of the Court of Cassation were instructed to go to the post office in person and receive the factual data confirming the return notification of the [legal] defender receiving the decision of the Court of Cassation; that is, the problem is that there is an obvious interest that some people instruct to ensure speed, and that some employees diligently go and pick up from the post offices, etc.," said Sargsyan.

According to the attorney, all this was done so that the decision on Tsarukyan would be made in a specific time.

As reported earlier, the attorneys have submitted a crime report on Gagik Tsarukyan's case to the Prosecutor General and the Special Investigation Service. They stated that they had evidence that, as a result of the illegal interference of some officials, it had been "decided" that the Court of Cassation shall deny the appeals as soon as possible so that the court case could be assigned to the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan as soon as possible, be considered as speedily as possible,  and Tsarukyan be remanded in custody.

As reported earlier, Gagik Tsarukyan has been charged with orchestrating vote buying. But he does not accept the charge and says it as illegal.