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The travel ban imposed against Armenian opposition politician Armen Ashotyan is “arbitrary” and runs against domestic laws, his lawyer Tigran Atanesyan claims.

Ashotyan, the deputy chair of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia, was banned from travelling to Lisbon to attend the EPP Political Assembly on 16 November.

The politician was told at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport that the travel ban stemmed from his involvement in a case. Ashotyan has denounced the decision as “politically motivated”.

A crime report concerning the “unlawful” ban was filed to Armenia’s attorney general later in November. The Prosecutor’s Office forwarded the report to the Anti-Corruption Committee, which refused to launch a criminal probe into the case, citing lack of legal grounds.

“According to the investigator, banning a man from leaving the county unlawfully does not feature any elements of a crime,” Atanesyan wrote on Facebook on Monday.

“Such a response could be expected from the very beginning and the refusal to open a criminal investigation indicates that the travel ban against Armen Ashotyan is arbitrary and grossly violates the Constitution and laws,” he stated.