A decision to arrest a member of the National Assembly to be made within the next  2-3 hours - lawyer

ArmInfo. The court session considering the issue of applying a preventive measure in the form of arrest to MP Artur Sargsyan, has ended.  In an interview with journalists, lawyer Smbat Minasyan said that the court has retired to a deliberation room, and the decision is expected to be announced in 2-3 hours. The lawyer questioned why the case was heard in the Avan administrative district court instead of the Ajapnyak district court.  This issue, as the lawyer emphasized, was raised during the trial. A motion was even made to change the judge, which, however, was rejected. The court's justification indicated that all Yerevan courts were involved in considering such motions. During the court session, issues related to the grounds for detaining Artur Sargsyan and the reasons for his arrest were considered.

 The discussions were held on the same grounds where Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan made a motion in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia the day before. However, according to the lawyer, the threshold for proving the deputy's guilt has not been met. In his speech at the court session, Artur Sargsyan once again pointed out the political nature of the trial.

Note that Judge Artak Karapetyan is presiding over Artur Sargsyan's case. He has already distinguished himself by arresting businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan. The lawyer noted that he had worked with Karapetyan before and believes he is impartial. When asked if the court's decision regarding the president of the Tashir Group of Companies is impartial, Minasyan noted that he is not familiar with the materials of Samvel Karapetyan's case and therefore cannot comment on it.