Manvel Grigoryan released on bail

The court in Yerevan has released Manvel Grigoryan, an Armenian MP and the head of the "Erkrapa" Union of Volunteer, on bail of 52,000 US dollars.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 16, Manvel Grigoryan was detained on suspicion of illegal arms circulation. According to Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, the retired general had appropriated the humanitarian aid intended for the army. During a search of Grigoryan's house, they found cartridges, ammunition, stock of military food supplies and firearms. On December 12, the court refused to release him on bail.

Now, Arsen Mkrtchyan, Manvel Grigoryan's advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his client was released after paying a bail of 25 million drams (about 52,000 US dollars). The advocate has noted that the court should have made such a decision before.

However, Mr Mkrtchyan did not disclose the arguments of his petition on changing the freedom restraint measure for Grigoryan. According to his story, the session was held behind closed doors; therefore, the defence is not entitled to provide any details. "I can only say that my client's health condition was not the only argument," Mr Mkrtchyan has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 22, 2018 at 07:33 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.