The persecution of Vahagn Vermishyan is exclusively politically motivated, he is prosecuted for free expression of will in the Government, dialogue with the Prime Minister, for pointing out the mistakes of the Prime Minister and the Government in certain spheres, lawyer Aleksandr Kochubaev told journalists.

"Vermishian criticized the Government's policy on urban development in an interview with the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper belonging to Pashinyan's family.

During one of his meetings with Pashinyan, he questioned the expediency of building a cargo or checkpoint on the Armenian-Turkish border, trying to understand what problem this would solve, whether a free trade zone would work. He did not take part in the change of power in 2018, nor was he involved in corruption schemes. All this could not be forgiven him and became the reason for prosecution. The authorities have exhausted all the criminal and procedural tools to keep Vermishyan in captivity," said Kochubaev.

With the appointment of Mkhitar Papoyan as chairman of the Criminal Court of Appeal, according to his assessment, some changes are observed.

"This time the case has been assigned to Judge Arsen Nikoghosyan. This shows that we can count on a fair trial. Nikoghosyan is positioning himself as an independent judge, and there are expectations that the decision will be published on September 5 and Vermishyan, held hostage, will be released. The last hearing was held in July, after which Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan went on vacation. As a result of all this, Vermishyan has been in captivity for 2-3 months without trial. In fact, Judge Martirosyan continues to hold Vermishyan in custody by force, without trial, while the accusation was based solely on gossip," the lawyer stressed.

Vermishyan is accused of taking bribes on a large scale.