21:08, 22 February 2016

Defence of Gevorg Safaryan challenges his arrest

Gevorg Safaryan. Photo by Armine Martirosyan for the "Caucasian Knot"

An advocate of Gevorg Safaryan, a member of the "Constituent Parliament", who was arrested on suspicion of using violence against a public authority, has filed a complaint against his client's arrest to the Court of Cassation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Gevorg Safaryan was detained on December 31, 2015, during a conflict with the police in Freedom Square in Yerevan. On January 3, the court sanctioned his two-month arrest. On January 25, the Court of Appeal rejected the complaint against the arrest lodged by Safaryan's advocate. Then, the defence filed a petition for release on bail, but on February 15 the court refused to grant the petition either.

According to Tigran Airapetyan, one of Safaryan's advocates, investigators will claim to extend the arrest. If this does not happen, then, on March 1, Safaryan should be released. "In fact, there is not a single video in the case files to prove the use of violence against the police; only the evidence of policemen themselves, but they contradict each other," Mr Airapetyan has concluded.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan

Source: CK correspondent