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The Mayor of Goris town in Armenia’s Syunik Province Arush Arushanyan has been arrested for two months, his lawyer Armen Melkonyan told reporters after walking out of the Yerevan Court building on Friday. The ruling to arrest Arushanyan was issued by the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction based on the petition submitted by Armenia's Special Investigation Committee. 

To note,  Arushanyan is charged with offering bribes to two people to get them to vote in favor of opposition "Armenia" bloc in June 20 snap parliamentary elections. 

The prosecution launched by the law enforcement against the heads of local self-government bodies in Armenia are widely seen as politically motivated and come as part of Pashinyan's recent crackdown on local community leaders who had actively supported the opposition during the pre-election period. 

"This is our reality but we should continue our struggle to reveal the truth," Melkonyan said, adding the ruling is unprecedented as the arrest ruling was based on the controversial testimony against Arushanyan by an elderly woman whose son-in-law reportedly works in the law enforcement. 

  Melkonyan said that the defense team would appeal the ruling at a higher instance court.