Armenia orders detention of coordinator linked to Russian oligarch

A court in Yerevan has ordered the two-month pretrial detention of Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the national-civic movement Hayakve, his lawyer, Varazdat Harutyunyan, has announced.

The court said Chalabyan has been charged with preparing to obstruct citizens’ electoral rights “by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy and using official powers,” Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

The politician dismissed the allegations as “a lie from beginning to end” and refused to admit guilt.

The court ruled that Chalabyan be held at the Armavir penitentiary with a ban on visits.

“I have not yet reviewed the ruling, but the grounds were insufficient not only for detention, but for any preventive measure at all,” Harutyunyan said, describing the case as fabricated.

The detention order will be appealed.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov