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One of the lawyers of the jailed former deputy chief of the Armenian parliament staff, Lusine Sahakyan denounced the criminal case against his client as ‘politically motivated’ and ‘unlawful’.

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction satisfied a motion of the Special Investigative Service to keep Arsen Babayan in custody, denying his lawyers’ bail plea. Meanwhile, the court held that his arrest was unlawful.

Babayan, who was arrested on 21 October, is suspected of forging documents during the resignation process of then Constitutional Court Chairman Gagik Harutyunyan

Lusine Sahakyan insisted the court failed to record that there was a lack of reasonable suspicion against Babayan.

According to her, although there were no grounds for Babayan’s arrest, his defense team had also petitioned the court to select bail as a measure of restraint against him.

“Given the fact that this is a political trial, I don’t think that he is the judge who could act independently,” Sahakyan stressed.

Th lawyer said Babayan himself was in attendance of the court hearing.

“The ongoing processes are obviously illegal. It is clear to us that the next person must have been imprisoned to exert more pressure on [Constitutional Court Chairman] Hrayr Tovmasyan. The court secured it,” the lawyer said, noting that the defense lawyers have not yet familiarised themselves with the grounds for his arrest.