Court Rejects Appeals by Mika Badalyan and Ashot Gevorgyan's Lawyer

The Syunik region's court of general jurisdiction has rejected the appeals by blogger Mika Badalyan and Sputnik Armenia journalist Ashot Gevorgyan regarding the legality of their arrests. This was stated by lawyer Liana Grigoryan in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.

Seven individuals were arrested in the Syunik region on September 6 and 7, 2023, based on reasonable suspicion of committing a crime. Among those arrested were Ashot Gevorgyan and pro-Russian blogger Mika Badalyan, who were released as witnesses on September 8.

Following the arrests of Gevorgyan and Badalyan, the lawyer filed an appeal against the legality of the decision. The court hearings concerning the arrests were held behind closed doors.

The pre-investigation body justified the decision to arrest by stating that it occurred at the moment of committing the crime. However, the lawyer reminded that at the time of the arrest, her clients were at a hotel in Goris, dealing with their daily work matters.

“Today, the court session took place, and the court denied both appeals; however, we have not received anything yet. The court only published the concluding part. After receiving the decision, we will discuss it with my clients, after which we will decide whether to appeal or not. The sessions were conducted in a fairly calm atmosphere,” Grigoryan noted.

When asked if Mika Badalyan and Ashot Gevorgyan attended the hearings, the lawyer emphasized that they were not present.