Ruben Melikyan—a human rights activist, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) former Human Rights Ombudsman, and co-founder of the “Legal Path” NGO of Armenia—has called for an assembly Thursday outside the office of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Armenia.
"[Yerevan court Judge] Davit Arghamanyan has decided to arrest Judge [Boris] Bakhshiyan for two months. I have no more questions for the Armenian authorities. Everything is clear. However, I have questions and I have something to say to those who record 'progress of democracy' in Armenia.
To this end, I am announcing an assembly in front of the EU representation in Armenia on Thursday, February 10, at 14:00. Those people must take accountability for their assessments," Melikyan stated on Facebook.
As reported earlier, a Yerevan court on Monday granted the petition by the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia to remand suspended Judge Boris Bakhshiyan in custody.
The basis for prosecuting Bakhshiyan is that, according to the NSS, he had violated the procedure for precautionary measure. Accordingly, a defendant in a criminal case refused to appear in court, and Judge Bakhshiyan made a decision to have him arrested. According to the body conducting the proceedings, thus, Judge Bakhshiyan had not ensured the right of the defendant to be heard.
To note, Bakhshiyan is the judge who had commuted the pretrial measure of detention that was imposed against Ashot Minasyan—a.k.a. Ashot the Iron, the commander of the "Sisakan" detachment and a participant in the three wars—and released him on bail and a signature bond not to leave Armenia.
Judge Bakhshiyan’s lawyers consider these processes as a political persecution against him.