Mamikon Aslanyan, who won a second term in the Vanadzor municipal elections in December 2021 and was arrested shortly afterwards, has been taken to a civilian hospital after feeling sick, lawyer Arsen Babayan, a senior member of the opposition Homeland Party, said on Telegram on Wednesday.

“I was told a short while ago that elected Vanadzor Mayor and political prisoner Mamikon Aslanyan was being moved from the Vardashen Penitentiary to a civilian hospital,” he wrote.

“Mamikon Aslanyan’s health condition deteriorated dramatically,” he said.

Aslanyan was arrested on 15 December on charges of abuse of office and fraud. The law enforcement authorities claim that he illegally privatized municipal land during his tenure as Vanadzor mayor from 2016 to 2021.

An opposition bloc led by Aslanyan won the local election with around 39% of the vote. The ruling Civil Contract party finished second with 25%.