Armen Ashotyan: Do you think I'd agree to have Nikol Pashinyan vouch for me?
Opposition politician Armen Ashotyan, deputy chair of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), will remain in custody for three more months.
Judge Vahe Dolmazyan of the Anti-Corruption Court extended his detention at a hearing on Thursday, rejecting the sureties offered by 30 opposition MPs for his release.
"Mr. Ashotyan, who should provide personal guarantees to secure your release? Nikol Pashinyan?" reporters asked Ashotyan at the courtroom.
"Do you think I would agree to have Nikol Pashinyan or someone like him come and vouch for me? I’d like to thank you all, the struggle continues, don't lose heart!" Ashotyan replied.
His lawyer Tigran Atanesyan denounced the Anti-Corruption Court for extending the politician’s arrest.
"The Anti-Corruption Court, a product of Nikol’s sick mind, rejected the parliamentary opposition..." he said in a social media post.