Opposition activist Avetik Chalabyan on Friday again rejected the charges levelled against him as trumped-up and politically motivated, echoing his allegations against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a court hearing in his trial, he reiterated Pashinyan is “persecuting” him and his family.

Chalabyan, a co-founder of the Arar Foundation and a member of the Consolidation Movement, was placed under arrest on 14 May for allegedly trying to pay students of the Armenian National Agrarian University to participate in anti-government protests in Yerevan. He was released from custody after his arrest period expired on Wednesday.

“This is obviously political persecution against me ordered by Nikol Pashinyan, which also targets some members of my family,” he said.

The oppositionist stated that his brother, Ara Chalabyan, who led the Armenian Central Bank’s Corporate Services and Development Directorate, was forced to step down on Thursday under strong pressure from the government.

Chalabyan reiterated that he had been illegally held in custody for more than two months, adding he was released on Wednesday because the duration of his arrest period expired while the prosecutors could not ask presiding judge Arusyak Aleksanyan to extend it after a court hearing in his case was postponed. He said he may be rearrested at Friday’s hearing.