The Yerevan court of general jurisdiction today ruled to select arrest as a pre-trial measure against leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan.

The examination of the motion filed by the investigator of the National Security Service lasted nearly nine hours. Tsarukyan’s attorneys had filed a motion for the judge’s self-recusal, but it was denied.

After the examination of the motion, Tsarukyan’s attorney Yerem Sargyan told reporters that, according to the prosecutors, the basis for arrest was the risk of Tsarukyan obstructing the course of the criminal case.

The defense attorneys had submitted a crime report on Tsarukyan’s case to the Prosecutor General and the Special Investigation Service. They stated that they had evidence that, as a result of the illegal interference of some officials, it had been “decided” that the Court of Cassation shall deny the appeals as soon as possible so that the court case could be assigned to the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan as soon as possible, be considered as speedily as possible, and Tsarukyan be remanded in custody.

Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan had submitted a petition to the National Assembly to strip Tsarukyan of parliamentary immunity, and the petition was granted, but the Yerevan court of general jurisdiction had rejected the motion of an investigator of the National Security Service to arrest Tsarukyan.

According to the decision of the first instance court, there was a substantiated suspicion in the case. Both sides had appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal. The attorneys had filed a few appeals, and one of them stated that the case had to be investigated by the Special Investigation Service.

The Court of Appeal had rejected the attorney’s appeal and partially granted the appeal of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Later, Tsarukyan’s attorneys and the Prosecutor General’s Office had filed appeals to the Court of Cassation, which didn’t accept the appeals for proceedings.

Tsarukyan has been charged with orchestrating vote buying. But he does not accept the charge and says it as illegal.

A few former deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia are also accused under this case, including Abraham Manukyan, Vanik Asatryan and Sedrak Arustamyan.

H/T News.am