Mikael Arzumanyan Released from Detention

Mikael Arzumanyan's defense attorney, Yerem Sargsyan, informed ArmLur.am that claims suggesting that a notification was sent to Mikael Arzumanyan requiring him to appear are not true. “On August 30 at 15:45, special units presented Mikael Arzumanyan to the investigative department on the Artsakh-Yerevan highway. This was a decision made under new legislation regarding his apprehension. The decision claims he was summoned for questioning on August 25, yet no notification was handed over. This means that the basis for his forced representation does not actually exist,” Sargsyan said.

Following this, he was charged, which led to an unfounded detention decision based on the need to present him to court; however, at that moment there was no basis for detention, and merely the requirement to present to court is not sufficient. In other words, there must also be other justifications provided,” Sargsyan explained.

According to the lawyer, around 23:00, a motion was submitted to the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction for permission for detention, along with a 50-page motion and three volumes of case materials that were very extensive. “The session began around 12:10 and lasted about 20 minutes while Mikael Arzumanyan was held in detention, despite the fact that he should have been released by 11:45. This means he was unlawfully held in detention,” he added.

Afterwards, the session began, and it was declared that all materials had been reviewed. Sargsyan pointed out that such an extensive amount of material could not be properly reviewed within the timeline, requesting a reasonable one day to familiarize and discuss with his client. However, the court deemed one hour sufficient. Sargsyan insisted that Arzumanyan should be released since the detention duration had expired, but no action was taken. After a recess, the court decided to hold an urgent session and found that the duration had expired, subsequently declaring that Mikael Arzumanyan was free.

According to the defense attorney, he had been persistently raising the issue of Arzumanyan's unlawful detention and the request for an extension of time in court, yet suspiciously, the judge took a recess and afterwards returned to decide that yes, the person should be released. Sargsyan raised the question in court of who would be held accountable for Mikael Arzumanyan being unlawfully detained for several hours and further questioned what changed for the judge to previously reject their requests for one day's time to review the materials but later seemingly made clarifications realizing there were violations in the case that warranted additional time for a review.

Sargsyan claims that the judge did not respond to any inquiries on this matter. He noted that it was evident that a decision had already been made by the judge or perhaps elsewhere, but the judge’s stamp would be placed on it. “The judge attempted to rectify his violation and make a decision that had already been accepted, since a judge who is unable to secure basic rights such as those concerning personal freedom and legal defense cannot independently make a decision, thus the outcome was predetermined,” he emphasized.

Additionally, it is noted that today at 19:00, the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction's Ajapnyak division will deliberate on Mikael Arzumanyan's detention issue. Given the circumstances, it is likely that Arzumanyan will be detained.