Defenders of Syunik Community Heads File Appeals to Court

“We have submitted an appeal to the Court of Appeals today, and we await when the session will be convened,” said Eric Aleksanyan, the lawyer of Goris Mayor Arush Arushanyan, in a conversation with ArmDaily.am.

It is worth recalling that according to the accusation, a few days before the snap elections, Arushanyan met with the administrative head, Lusine Avetyan, and offered financial assistance to voters who promised to vote for the 'Armenia' alliance after the elections. The Special Investigation Service states that the crime was not completed due to circumstances beyond Arushanyan's control since the head of Karahunj, Avetyan, refused to meet with the voters and offer them bribes in the form of financial aid.

“Today, a confrontational interrogation took place with Lusine Avetyan. We refused to participate in that interrogatory,” said the lawyer. The investigator also restricted visits and telephone conversations.

“Today, we have submitted a request to the investigator to clarify that decision and to understand the basis for implementing such restrictions, so that we can appeal to the prosecutor later,” said the lawyer.

Sisian Mayor Arthur Sargsyan's lawyer, Emin Khachatryan, also reported that an appeal has already been filed with the Court of Appeals. “No investigative actions have been performed other than the engagement of the accused and taking testimony,” said the lawyer, noting that he has no information about restrictions on visits and phone conversations.

“There are no specifics. From the very beginning, as I stated, I still insist that there was substantial factual evidence that our client should not have been detained, but those were ignored by the court due to arbitrary circumstances. Arbitrary interpretations were given to the evidence presented by the defense,” the lawyer stated.

It should be noted that the Sisian mayor has been charged with abuse of official position and forgery.

Kajaran Mayor Manvel Paramazyan's lawyer, Lusine Sahakyan, also announced that they have filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals. She indicated that no investigative actions are being conducted with Paramazyan, and there has been a restriction on visits and telephone conversations, which they are preparing to challenge.

It should be mentioned that Kajaran community leader Manvel Paramazyan has been charged under Articles 38-178 (part 3) of the Criminal Code of Armenia (fraud), 311 (part 4) (accepting a bribe), and 154.2 (part 2) (obstructing the free exercise of the will of a voter).