Appeal against Arush Arushanyan's arrest to be challenged in the Criminal Court of Appeals
An appeal against the arrest of member of opposition "Armenia" bloc and Mayor of Goris town Arush Arushanyan is ready to be submitted to the Court of Appeals, his attorney Erik Alexanyan told reporters on Saturday. In his words, the appeal will be submitted online to the Criminal Court of Appeals on July 19.
To remind, on July 16, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction ruled to arrest Arushanyan for two months, granting a motion of the Special Investigation Committee. The Mayor of Goris has been charged with allegedly 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 Arushanyan and other heads of local self-government bodies in Armenia's Syunik province 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.