Yerevan court extends ban on opposition activists
The Yerevan Criminal Court on Wednesday completed preliminary hearings in a case against opposition activists Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan.
The activists, who co-host the Imnemnimi podcast, were released on May 21, two months after being detained on charges of “hooliganism” for using slur language to criticize Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s plans for land surrender to Azerbaijan.
Presiding judge Arman Hovhannisyan banned them from hosting the Imnemnimi podcast or other programs for three months, applying administrative control.
At today’s hearing, the court declined the defense request to lift the ban, extending it by three more months.
Substantive hearings in the case are scheduled to begin on September 23.