Lawyer: Motion to keep Armenian TV station owner under arrest unsubstantiated
The motion of the Special Investigative Service (SIS) to keep the owner of a TV channel critical of the Armenian government in pre-trial custody is unsubstantiated, his lawyer claims.
The SIS arrested owner of the Fifth Channel Armen Tavadyan on Tuesday on suspicion of seeking false testimony in favour of Armenia’s jailed former President Robert Kocharyan.
Speaking to Panorama.am, his lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan said the defense team has partially familiarised itself with the substantiations in the motion.
“At the moment we keep getting acquainted with the materials, it’s a little bit time-consuming process. But, in general, the SIS motion has nothing to do with the law,” he stated.
A Yerevan court heard the appeal against Tavadyan’s arrest on Wednesday and is set to start considering the petition for his arrest at 11am Thursday.