It Is Obvious That the Criminal Prosecution Against Arush Arushanyan Is Illegal: Defense Lawyer Erik Aleksanyan

Decisions regarding the consolidation or separation of cases, involvement of an individual as a defendant, termination of proceedings, suspension or resumption of prosecution, extension of the investigation term, selection of detention as a preventive measure, and the prolongation of their terms can only be made by the head of the investigative group. Therefore, it is evident that the criminal prosecution against Arush Arushanyan is illegal, and his detention is also unlawful, thus Arush Arushanyan should be released immediately.

This was stated by Goris Mayor Arush Arushanyan’s defense lawyer Erik Aleksanyan on his Facebook page. “The decision to involve Arush Arushanyan as a defendant, as well as the motion from the investigator for detention as a preventive measure, was made by investigator Kh. Mejlumyan. However, the investigation in this case has been assigned to the investigative group, whose head, according to the materials provided to the defense and the court, has been investigator Arman Manucharyan.

According to Article 195, Part 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, the decisions regarding the consolidation or separation of cases, involvement of an individual as a defendant, termination of proceedings, suspension or resumption of prosecution, and the extension of investigation deadlines, as well as the selection and extension of detention as a preventive measure, can only be made by the head of the investigative group. Thus, it is clear that the criminal prosecution against Arush Arushanyan is illegal, and his detention is also unjustified, hence he must be released without delay.

I assume that the Anti-Corruption Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office will attempt to present the reality in such a way that, supposedly, there is a decision to appoint a new head of the investigative group, which has coincidentally not been communicated to either the defense or the court. That will not succeed,” he wrote.