Returned from captivity, Aren Aramyan to remain in custody

On November 26, soldier Aren Aramyan, who was repatriated from Azerbaijani captivity, will continue to remain in custody. The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Davit Argamanyan, rejected the request to replace his detention with bail despite his health condition. This was reported to "Pastinfo" by lawyer Ara Karapetyan.

It is noteworthy that after being captured, Aramyan was transported by helicopter from Ganja to a hospital in Baku for surgery due to his severe condition. After being repatriated on November 26, he was transferred to Muratsan Hospital, where he received medical treatment for 10 days before being detained by Armenian law enforcement.

During his hospital stay, Aramyan was questioned as a victim. He was arrested on December 6 within the framework of a criminal case being investigated by the Investigative Committee, after which the prosecuting authority charged him and presented a request for detention, which was granted by Judge Davit Argamanyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.

Aren Aramyan has been charged under part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Armenia for violating the rules of combat duty or military service, which resulted in serious consequences. A decision to extend his detention by another two months was made on December 30.

The defense attorney presented a motion to the court requesting the replacement of Aramyan's detention with bail, suggesting an amount of 500,000 AMD considering the social circumstances of Aramyan's family. The defense based its motion on the completion of the preliminary investigation and Aramyan's deteriorating health condition.

Specifically, due to the completion of the preliminary investigation, the likelihood of hindering the trial has significantly decreased, while concerning Aramyan's health, without proper medical care, there is a risk of amputation of his leg.

Yesterday, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Davit Argamanyan, reviewed the bail request and rejected it, stating that the court did not assess the deterioration of the repatriated soldier's health as a new circumstance.

Furthermore, according to the head of the investigative group, the prosecution has not confirmed the indictment, and the case has been sent back for additional investigation. It should be noted that the prosecuting authority had already separated the portion of the case involving the repatriated soldiers with accused status and declared the preliminary investigation completed, which the defense saw as a newly emerged circumstance in their bail motion. However, what instructions were given by the prosecutor remain unknown to the defense.

The reason for conducting further investigation was raised by the prosecuting authority in court, and the court has also addressed this. "The court has considered that during the previous session, it was indicated that the preliminary investigation should be declared completed. There needs to be a reason because, essentially, if the preliminary investigation has concluded, the risk of obstruction, if it has not been neutralized, has fully diminished, since all actions have been completed; this is simply being recorded for the sake of recording," noted the lawyer.

Lawyer Ara Karapetyan announced that he intends to file an appeal, although he does not have particularly high expectations.