Court Upholds Release of Vahagan Ghazaryan on Bail

The Appeal Court has examined the prosecution's appeal against the decision to release Vahagan Ghazaryan, former head of the security detail for Armenia's third president Serzh Sargsyan, on a bail of 50 million drams. According to Armenpress, the court rejected the prosecution's appeal and upheld the decision of the first-instance court.

Aravik Khachatryan, head of the public relations department of the RA Prosecutor General's Office, stated that the prosecution has clarified its position, indicating that it does not insist on the appeal since Ghazaryan has restored the damages caused by the crime and the risks of obstructing the investigation have decreased at this stage.

The Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction made a decision on December 30 to grant the request of Vahagan Ghazaryan's defenders to release him on a bail of 50 million drams.

In the framework of the criminal case being investigated by the Special Investigative Service, Vahagan Ghazaryan was charged on June 27 for concealing the true amounts of his financial resources in the declarations submitted to the Ethics Commission of High-Ranking Officials, and for illegal enrichment.