Custody extended for Armenian opposition official

Noyan Tapan news agency
7 Jun 04

Yerevan, 7 June: The first instance court of Yerevan’s Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities chaired by judge Grachya Ovanisyan ruled on 7
June to prolong the custody term by another two months for Vagarshak
Arutyunyan, a member of the political council of the Republic Party
and former defence minister. Arutyunyan’s lawyer Robert Grigoryan,
who provided the report to Noyan Tapan news agency, noted that he
was going to protest this ruling at the court of appeals for civilian
and military cases.

Arutyunyan has been in custody since 13 April on charges under three
articles of the Criminal Code: calling publicly for the seizure of
power, insulting a representative of the authorities and attempting to
seize power. The latter article envisages imprisonment for a period
of 10 to 15 years. An appeal was sent against the first court ruling
on choosing arrest as a preventive measure, but the Court of Appeals
has not yet considered it.