Arrest Is Not Used as Pressure by Judicial Authority, Says Supreme Judicial Council President

The use of arrest as a preventive measure is not employed by the judicial authority as a form of pressure against the individuals under investigation. This was stated by the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Karen Andreasian, in response to a question from ruling party member Hovik Aghazaryan during a session of the National Assembly.

Aghazaryan inquired whether the frequent use of arrest as a preventive measure might not be excessive and whether the Supreme Judicial Council has any mechanism to influence the situation. In response, Andreasian noted that the Supreme Judicial Council cannot intervene in such matters but will provide the statistics on arrests in writing to the parliament member.

“I can assure that at least during my tenure, arrest is not considered in any other way than as a preventive measure and a mechanism that prevents the suspect from interfering in the investigative process and obstructing it,” Andreasian added.