Court extends Chakhalyan's house arrest

PanARMENIAN.Net - The house arrest imposed on Vahagn Chakhalyan, a supporter of the Sacred Struggle movement, has been extended by another month by court order. The hearing was presided over by Judge Karen Farkhoyan.

The motion to extend Chakhalyan's preventive measure was submitted by public prosecutor Hayk Hovhannisyan, who left the length of the extension to the court's discretion, according to Sputnik Armenia.

Earlier in the hearing, Chakhalyan's lawyers requested his release, arguing that his continued restrictions on liberty were unjustified after one year and eight months.

"He remains under restriction solely because, out of 15,000 lines contained in a 307-volume case file, the surname 'Chakhalyan' appears only six times in six lines. Even then, it is unclear whether those references concern Vahagn Chakhalyan or simply the surname Chakhalyan," the defense lawyers said.

Vahagn Chakhalyan, head of the Kamk Initiative and an activist, was arrested on July 5, 2025. On February 26, 2026, his pretrial detention was replaced with house arrest combined with a travel ban.

According to Armenia's Investigative Committee, participants and leaders of the Sacred Struggle movement had planned to carry out terrorist acts and actions aimed at seizing power in Armenia.