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The lawyers of conductor Sergey Smbatyan have condemned the Yerevan appellate court’s decision to place him under house arrest, saying it will be challenged in a higher court.

Sergey Smbatyan, the artistic director and chief conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, and his father Armen Smbatyan, Armenia’s former ambassador to Russia and Israel, were arrested for large-scale fraud in late July.

The Criminal Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the conductor’s detention and ruled to put him under house arrest.

"Upon the decision rendered by the Criminal Court of Appeals, the decision of the Court of First Instance on imposing detention as a measure of restraint on Maestro Sergey Smbatyan was overturned in part, the imposed measure of restraint was altered, as well as house arrest was imposed as a measure of restraint, which is unacceptable,” his defense team said in a statement on Thursday.

"We are going to file a cassation appeal against the rendered decision; application, in general, of any measure of restraint against Sergey Smbatyan is illegal and non-justified," the lawyers added.