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Henrik Abrahamyan, the brother of former Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, has been released from pre-trial detention, a spokesperson of the Special Investigative Service (SIS), Marina Ohanjanyan told Panorama.am.

He has been set free on a bail of 5 million drams, she said. The motion on changing the court ruling on his detention had been filed by Abrahamyan’s attorney.

Henrik Abrahamyan is charged with illegal arms procurement and possession.

The National Security Service announced his arrest on 8 August after finding a weapons cache while raiding a former mechanical plant formally owned by Ambik Gevorgyan but, de-facto belonging to Hovik Abrahamyan.

The security service named three hand-held machine guns, 7 AK-74 assault rifles, two sniper rifles (SVD), three rifles, two pistols, bullets and ammunition among the findings, which according to the SIS, have been illegally acquired by Henrik Abrahamyan with a prior agreement with Ambik Gevorgyan.

The security agencies are trying to determine whether those weapons were used against opposition protesters during the March 2008 post-election crackdown in Yerevan, which left eight civilians and two police officers dead.