Arush Arushanyan Transferred to NSS Detention Center as Petition Launched in Support

The Mayor of Goris, Arush Arushanyan, has been transferred from the "Armavir" penitentiary to the National Security Service (NSS) detention center. This information was confirmed by Arushanyan's lawyer, Armen Melkonyan, in a conversation with Sputnik Armenia.

“He was moved yesterday. Visits with close friends and relatives are prohibited. Such a decision has been made,” Melkonyan stated.

According to him, the Appeal Court has yet to accept the lawyers' request to appeal the decision to detain Arushanyan. His lawyers plan to challenge the arrest decision in court, and in the meantime, a petition has been launched in Goris demanding the mayor's release.

“Concerned citizens of Goris can join the petition starting from 17:00 today at the G. Tatevatsi Square (next to the Culture House),” noted Zakhar Khodjabaghyan, a member of the initiating group, in a conversation with Sputnik Armenia.

Arushanyan's lawyer Eric Aleksanyan emphasized that the Appeal Court should properly assess the existence of the petition regarding the change of the preventive measure for Arush Arushanyan, among other issues, and make a legal decision.

“In the context of selecting a preventive measure and its type, the court also collects characterization data about the person. In this case, the petition is a characteristic data, and the court should give it an appropriate evaluation in the context of the legality of the selected preventive measure,” he stressed.

According to Aleksanyan, while the number of petition participants is not crucial, its existence already demonstrates a positive characterization of Arushanyan. However, the lawyer does not rule out that the “iron fist” and “pavement politics” may also be used against the petitioners.

“Honestly, I am not surprised by anything anymore. To be frank, I am now looking at all this with a smile. We see that those who support Arushanyan and are concerned about other mayors facing political persecution are also subjected to various repressions and taken to police stations,” Aleksanyan stated.

Earlier, Aleksanyan reported that on July 19, a complaint was filed with the Appeal Court to contest Arushanyan's preventive measure.

It is noteworthy that the mayor of Goris has been charged under Article 35-154.2, part 4, point 2, Article 38-149, part 2, point 4, and Article 38-154.2, part 3 of the RA Criminal Code (violating the secrecy of voting, obstructing the exercise of electoral rights).