Direct Influence of the Prime Minister on the Court, Claims Gayané Hakobyan's Lawyer

The court's decision was not unexpected; there had been a play in progress since the decision of the Court of Appeals. Frankly speaking, the decision to detain Gayané Hakobyan has been made much higher up than the court itself. This was stated by Gayané Hakobyan's lawyer, Georgi Melikyan, in a conversation with reporters near the Yerevan first-instance general jurisdiction criminal court after the hearing.

Hakobyan is accused of the alleged kidnapping of Ashot Pashinyan, the son of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The measure of restraint for Gayané Hakobyan has again been changed to detention for another 1.5 months.

"The legal issue we raised was that there is direct influence from the Prime Minister on the court. And this was proven during this trial as well," said Hakobyan’s representative, Georgi Melikyan.

Melikyan also recalled Pashinyan's statement that "there is no judge in Armenia who will not carry out the Prime Minister's orders." It is noteworthy that today, on May 5, the court ruled to detain Gayané Hakobyan, the mother of fallen soldier Jora Martirosyan during the 44-day war, for the alleged kidnapping of Ashot Pashinyan.