Ara Saghatelyan handed two-month jail term in YerevanFebruary 22, 2021 - 10:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A court in Yerevan decided on Sunday, February 21 to incarcerate former head of the parliament staff Ara Saghatelyan for two months, Saghatelyan's lawyer Hakob Yenokyan has said. Saghatelyan was among several people arrested for allegedly making posts from a fake account registered as "Gagik Soghomonyan". Even after their detention, however, more posts were made from the account. Yenokyan revealed that the court recognized the decision to arrest Saghatelyan as illegal, but upheld the investigator's motion to incarcerate him. The lawyer said there was no factual evidence except for the fact that both Saghatelyan and the fake account had used the same IP address of a server called ProtonVPN. "Turns out thousands of people can be accused of "managing" the fake account", Yenokyan added, according to Panorama.am. Saghatelyan and political analyst Karen Bekaryan, who has been arrested, are charged under Article 226 (inciting national, racial or religious enmity) of Armenia's Criminal Code, 226.2 (public calls for violence, public justification or propaganda of violence), 307.4 (violation of the rules of publishing or disseminating information during martial law). Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” Ex-President: Only removal of “defeatist” rulers can save Armenia Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. |