The 28-year-old Aghvan Arshakian was arrested in late June along with Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian and his 13 other supporters on coup charges denied by them. Another close collaborator of Galstanian, opposition lawmaker Artur Sargsian, was prosecuted on the same charges shortly afterwards. He too denies plotting “terrorist acts” in a bid to seize power.
Arshakian actively participated in last year’s massive anti-government protests in Yerevan led by the outspoken archbishop while undergoing post-cancer treatment. His family and lawyer say that his health condition has deteriorated because he does not have access to such care in prison. According to them, the young man now has difficulty moving and takes off and puts on his clothes and bathes with the help of his cellmates.
Arshakian’s mother, Marieta Kspoyan, pleaded with the Armenian authorities on Wednesday to release or even move him to house arrest pending investigation.
“Give me my son so I take care of him,” she said. “He can't run away anywhere.”
“He was still recovering and had to undergo medical tests,” added Kspoyan. “But they took him away and locked him up. I don't see the point of doing that.”
On Tuesday, a Yerevan court of first instance and Armenia’s Court of Appeals rejected relevant appeals filed by Arshakian’s lawyer, Varazdat Harutiunian. Garnik Danielian, an opposition lawmaker who was also actively involved in Galstanian’s protest movement, accused them of executing government orders.
Only one suspect in the case, Deacon Hrayr Hakobian, has been set free so far. Vazgen Rshtuni, a Cour of Appeals judge who ordered his release on June 29, came under fire from pro-government politicians and other supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. They took to social media to accuse Rshtuni of condoning “terrorism.” Opposition leaders said the uproar is designed to prevent other judges from making such decisions.
The high-profile case is based on Galstanian’s wiretapped conversations with his loyalists. The suspects’ lawyers say the recordings were doctored or taken out of context.
Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian claimed last month that the arrested archbishop and his supporters planned to assassinate Pashinian and other senior officials. None of them are facing corresponding murder charges, however.