Constitutional Court announces decision on release of arrested MPs of opposition ‘Armenia’ parliamentary faction

News.am, Armenia
Dec 9 2021

Based on the application filed by at least one fifth of the total number of deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia, the Constitutional Court has announced its decision on determining the constitutionality of particular articles of the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.

According to the Constitutional Court, a person with the status of deputy in custody may not be kept in custody from the moment that he or she obtains the status of deputy.

Deputy of the opposition “Armenia” Faction Aram Vardevanyan wrote about this decision on his Facebook page.

“They kept our fellow deputies in custody in an embarrassingly illegally way for all these months, and now they are going to release them immediately. This time the Higher Court ensured constitutional justice,” he wrote.

The aim of the application was to release arrested deputies of the “Armenia” Faction Mkhitar Zakaryan and Artur Sargsyan.

Applicant Aram Vardevanyan had declared several times that they needed to be released from custody after being elected MPs due to parliamentary immunity.

Former Mayor of Meghri, deputy of the “Armenia” Faction Mkhitar Zakaryan was arrested on July 13 and is charged with abuse of official powers and official forgery.

Former Mayor of Sisian, deputy of the “Armenia” Faction Artur Sargsyan was arrested on July 18 and is charged with abuse of official powers and official forgery.

Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.

Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2021/12/12/constitutional-court-announces-decision-on-release-of-arrested-mps-of-opposition-armenia-parliamentary-faction/

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS