Avetik Chalabyan: The materials of this case are sufficient enough to eventually lead to my acquittal in any reasonable court

ARMINFO
Armenia –

ArmInfo. Avetik Chalabyan, a member of the  "Unification" movement, activist and politician, will remain under  arrest.

On Sunday, On July 10, the Yerevan Court of Common  Jurisdiction, headed by Judge Arusyak Aleksanyan, published its  decision, which satisfied the appeal for extension of detention  submitted by the investigative body implementing the proceedings.

"How can I hinder from the proceedings if you have completed the  proceedings? What can I possibly do? If you have completed the  proceedings, then you have effectively taken the actions proposed by  the prosecutor, there is no logical action that I can hinder. By the  way, I have no desire either. The materials of this case are  sufficient enough to  eventually lead to my acquittal in any  reasonable court.These steps will one by one lead to the conclusion  that the that the criminal offense is absent," Avetik Chalabyan said  in his closing speech at the open court hearing of the extension of  detention dates.

It should be noted that earlier, a hasty motion was submitted to the  court to extend the detention of Avetik Chalabyan after the  prosecutor in charge of the trial did not confirm the indictment of  the case and returned the materials of the proceedings to the  preliminary investigation body with an instruction to continue the  preliminary investigation.

"How do you imagine yourself the escape from an investigation for a  man, who is a member of the board of directors of five companies, a  member of the board of trustees of two charitable foundations, a  father of a large family, the primary caregiver of four children and  two elderly parents? Did you write all this just for the sake of  writing? How can I escape? Can I escape from myself? A man who  returned to Armenia during the war with three boys. A significant  part of the population of our country takes its children out of the  country to escape serving in Army. Did I return to Armenia with three  boys to escape from Armenia?" said Avetik Chalabyan, adding that this  trail would feel ridiculous in any legal practice in any country.

Let's remind that Avetik Chalabyan is accused of the act provided for  in Article 163, Part 3, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic  of Armenia without any credible evidence and with gross violations of  criminal procedure procedures. The article has been reclassified and  softened by the new Criminal Code that came into force on July 1.

"Avetik Chalabyan is a political hostage of the current authorities,  and the courts are their executioners. Yesterday, the investigator  confirmed that Avetik Chalabyan should remain in custody only so that  he and the prosecutor could send the case to the court in a relaxed  manner. He admitted that they have no other investigative actions to  perform. So to say, Avetik Chalabyan will remain in custody on the  basis of sending the case to court,"Varazdat Harutyunyan and Arthur  Harutyunyan,Chalabyan's defenders, stated earlier.

Public groups and activists have been fighting for the freedom of  Avetik Chalabyan for months for now, calling for the release of  Avetik Chalabyan through mass protests, petitions and all means  prescribed by law.