Ashot Minasyan Was Either Illegally Detained or the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office is Lying, Lawyer Claims

Lawyer Mihran Poghosyan wrote on his Facebook page:

“Either Ashot Minasyan has been illegally detained for at least 27 days, or the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office is lying. I have just learned that the Prosecutor General's Office has informed the public that they have agreed with the ruling of Judge Boris Bakhshetyan regarding Ashot Minasyan’s case and that they will not appeal it. Linking what is happening with Boris Bakhshetyan to the ruling made in Ashot Minasyan’s case is foolishness.

Moreover, a respected representative of the Prosecutor's Office, in response to a journalist's question about whether it is possible that by not appealing the act of release, they are trying to confirm the hypothesis that what is happening with Boris Bakhshetyan is not related to Ashot Minasyan’s release, stated that they do not have time to ‘play chess’ at the Prosecutor's Office.

Now let me present some facts. The criminal case regarding Ashot Minasyan that was investigated by the NSS of Armenia was sent to the Prosecutor General's Office with an accusatory conclusion on 29.12.2021, on which same day, I submitted a motion to cancel or change the detention imposed on Ashot Minasyan.

Moreover, I asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to revoke or change the measure of restraint applied to Ashot Minasyan, and in the case of a change, to apply another measure of restraint that is not related to restriction of liberty, including a written pledge not to leave, bail, or even personal guarantees from Hrant Tohatyan, Grigor Khachaturov, and Bagrat Srbazan, which is undoubtedly the most effective measure of restraint given the available instruments.

On 03.01.2022, the Prosecutor General's Office decided to reject the submitted motion, arguing that the grounds for Ashot Minasyan’s detention still exist, and the case with an approved accusatory conclusion was sent to the court. This means that from the completion of the pre-trial investigation of the criminal case on 24.12.2021 until the day of the decision made by the Prosecutor's Office on 03.02.2022, and thereafter until the day of the decision made by Boris Bakhshetyan on 26.01.2022, no significant or minor circumstances regarding Ashot Minasyan’s case have changed. In other words, on 26.01.2022, Judge Boris Bakhshetyan examined the issue of Ashot Minasyan’s measure of restraint exclusively based on the facts that existed at the time of the Prosecutor's Office’s decision on 03.01.2022.

On the basis of these facts, the Court made a diametrically opposite decision, which, according to the representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, they retrospectively agree with. It turns out that in the framework of the same facts, the Prosecutor's Office found on 03.01.2022 that Ashot Minasyan should remain in custody, while on 26.01.2022 they agree that the Court acted correctly by releasing Ashot Minasyan.

As a result, it should be stated that either - due to the illegal actions of the Prosecutor's Office (failure to satisfy the motion), Ashot Minasyan was held illegally in custody, or - by not appealing the act of releasing Ashot Minasyan, the Prosecutor's Office is ‘clearing’ itself regarding the illegal detention of Boris Bakhshetyan.”