1 trillion 697 billion dram bail for those arrested in colonel's assault case

According to the 'Jamanak' newspaper, something unprecedented has occurred in the history of Armenia's judiciary. During a court session held on January 15 of this year, presided over by Judge Vache Margaryan of the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction, a hearing was held regarding the assault case involving the former governor of Vayots Dzor, Trdat Sargsyan's assistant, and the assistant's brother, Harutyun and Zaven Grigoryan. Defense attorney Levon Sahakyan requested to replace Harutyun Grigoryan's detention with bail set at an extraordinary sum of 1 trillion 697 billion drams.

It is unclear how such an amount would be paid. However, the judge rejected Zaven's release even under the condition of accepting the proposed bail amount corresponding to the revenues of the Republic of Armenia's state budget.

It is worth noting that Vache Margaryan is the judge mentioned in a notorious wiretapping involving the former directors of the Special Investigative Service SASL Khachatryan and National Security Service Arthur Vanetsyan, referring to Judge Hrach.

Additionally, it is important to recall that the willingness to pay such a massive bail amount comes from a case that created significant noise and distress. Last September, there was a dispute between the former governor's assistant and Deputy Colonel Ara Mkrtchyan of the Ministry of Defense, resulting in serious head injuries for the deputy colonel, who has not emerged from a coma for over four months now. He has become emaciated, weakening, and is merely breathing.

For further details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.