Court Releases Arthur Vardanyan from Custody on Bail

The decision of the court to release Arthur Vardanyan, the leader of the 'armed group', from custody on bail came as a surprise to him. He stated this in response to a question from NEWS.am in the courtroom.

Vardanyan, who has developed several health issues during his four years in custody, announced that he will first focus on his health.

"I will try to recover, regain my health, and later I will see my children, as I haven’t seen them for a long time," the defendant stated.

It should be noted that today, September 13, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Mesrop Makyan, made an unexpected ruling. The court granted the request of Vardanyan's defense team to release him on bail of 1 million drams.

It is noteworthy that Vardanyan was the only one of about twenty defendants in the case who was in custody; many of the defendants were released from detention in the summer of 2018 during the post-revolutionary period.

Recall that the case was reassigned to Judge Mesrop Makyan after the initial presiding judge, Armen Bekdashyan, was appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeals.

On November 25, 2015, the National Security Service announced that an armed group had been neutralized in Norq-Marash. According to the indictment, the 20-member armed group led by Arthur Vardanyan planned to violently seize power. Specifically, they intended to target the president's airplane during takeoff and attack the presidential residence, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the government, the Public Television building, and other institutions.

Among the defendants in the case are former Deputy Minister of Defense Vahan Shirghanian, the priest of the Catholic Church of Gyumri Anton Dikran Tothonyan, and 17 others.