Irina Yolyan Will Not Be Detained; All Arrested Women Released

The Deputy Mayor of Goris, Irina Yolyan, has been released. The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, presided over by Judge Karen Farukhoyan, rejected the prosecutor's request to impose a detention order on Irina Yolyan. This was reported to "Factinfo" by her attorney, Edgar Aramyan.

It is worth mentioning that earlier, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, under Judge Mesrop Makyan, had also rejected the prosecutor's request for the detention of Susanna Mkrtchyan, a 66-year-old employee of the Goris municipality, citing the absence of grounds for detention. Similarly, a request to detain Armine Chopchunts, another employee of the Goris municipality, was rejected by the court.

Only the Deputy Mayor of Goris, Menua Hovsepyan, has been detained, with his case being handled by Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan, who has once again shown his compliance by deciding to detain a father of four, who also participated in the war.

In a related note, Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan commented on the arrests in Goris, indicating that police officers transported all those apprehended, including three women, while wearing masks and carrying submachine guns throughout the process. Furthermore, during the arrests, video and photography were conducted against the will of the individuals, including women.

“One of the women requested to stop the filming, as it was being done in a manner that violated her dignity; however, they did not cease the video and photography. In response to this demand, the police stated that if she was being demanding, they would start filming her first,” the Human Rights Defender reported.

It should be noted that on August 16, the Armenian Investigative Committee made decisions to involve Irina Yolyan, the acting head of the Goris community, and two municipal employees as defendants under the first part of Article 179, Clause 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, while Deputy Mayor Menua Hovsepyan is involved under the second part of Article 149.1, Clauses 1 and 2, as well as Clause 1 of Article 179, Clause 3, and Clause 1 of Article 179, Clause 2 for committing criminal acts. They were arrested yesterday to be presented to the court for the purpose of examining the request for detention as a measure of restraint.