Court lifts Lydia Mantashyan’s pretrial detention

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Yerevan court has lifted the pretrial detention of Lydia Mantashyan, a defendant in the Sacred Struggle case. The First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Karen Farhoyan, granted the defense's motion.

The court imposed administrative supervision and set bail at 2.5 million AMD, according to Aysor.am .

A sit-in had been staged outside the Prosecutor General’s Office demanding her release.

Independent MP Taguhi Tovmasyan had formally appealed to Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan earlier today, urging an urgent change of the detention measure applied to Mantashyan, the only woman considered a political prisoner in the country.

Tovmasyan reminded that on February 12, 2024, the Prosecutor General had, on her own initiative, lifted the detention of Ani Gevorgyan (wife of the parliament speaker’s brother) and Lili Mkryan, citing completed interrogations and lack of interference risk.

A few days ago, Yerevan’s criminal court extended Mantashyan’s detention by another 3 months, sparking public outrage, especially as 10 male defendants facing similar charges had been released.