Court re-arrests defendant in case of attempted kidnapping of Pashinyan's son

Judge Manvel Shahverdyan decided to re-arrest the mother of the deceased soldier Zhora Martirosyan, Gayane Hakobyan (Martirosyan), accused of kidnapping the son of Armenian Prime Minister Ashot Pashinyan, for 45 days.

“The court decided to change the measure of restraint and arrest her from June 9,” the verdict says, Caliber.Az reports this with reference to the Armenian media.

Martirosyan has been under arrest since May 20; on June 5, the Court of Appeal replaced the detention with house arrest.

Hakobyan's (Martirosyan's) lawyers, immediately after the announcement of the court's verdict, stated that the judge was under the influence of Pashinyan and they intended to file a motion to challenge him.

On May 17, "Haykakan Zhamanak" newspaper, owned by the prime minister's family, earlier reported about the attempt to kidnap Ashot Pashinyan, accusing members of the "Call of Sons" organisation, which unites parents of servicemen killed in Karabakh.

The newspaper claimed that the members of the organisation made Pashinyan junior get into their car, but he managed to jump out and was hit by another car. The victim was injured and applied to the law enforcement bodies.