Judge Boris Bakhshiyan set free
Judge Boris Bakhshiyan of the Court of General Jurisdiction in Armenia’s Syunik Province was released from pre-trial custody on Saturday as his arrest was not extended.
The judge was arrested on 7 February shortly after granting bail to jailed opposition figure and war veteran Ashot Minasyan. He had earlier ordered the release of opposition Kajaran Mayor Manvel Paramazyan and Deputy Mayor of Goris Menua Hovsepyan.
Bakhshiyan is accused of illegally arresting a defendant, Nver Mkrtchyan, in a trial presided over by him. However, he rejects the charges as politically motivated.
Coming out of the Vardashen penitentiary, Bakhshiyan told reporters that he considered the criminal prosecution against him a "gross interference" in his judicial activity.
The judge again insisted that his decision to arrest defendant Nver Mkrtchyan was lawful and grounded.