Armenian electoral body to review arrest request for opposition candidate

Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) is set to consider a request from the Anti-Corruption Committee to initiate a criminal case and authorize the detention of parliamentary candidate David Ghazinyan from the opposition Strong Armenia bloc.

Ghazinyan’s lawyer Aram Vardevanyan made the statement during a briefing outside the CEC building, which was broadcast by local television channels, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“The circumstances of the case are currently not accessible, but the Anti-Corruption Committee, following its new model of conduct, has published the content [of the case], and we cannot speak about the secrecy of the preliminary investigation because on June 5 a recording of a phone call was published <...> In these circumstances, should we today be discussing in the CEC consent to initiate a case and to deprive of liberty?” the lawyer said.

Vardevanyan further noted that the published recording contains third-party individuals speaking about his client, alleging that Ghazinyan transferred 1.4 million drams (approximately $3,800) to another person, while the candidate himself did not participate in the conversation.

He added that arrests are typically applied in cases where a suspect may flee or attempt to influence the investigation, stressing that Ghazinyan had not demonstrated any such behavior during the relevant period.

Ghazinyan denies the allegations. He also said he has no positive expectations regarding the outcome of the upcoming CEC session.

By Vafa Guliyeva