Court rejects appeal against Tevanyan's arrest

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's Criminal Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal against the pre-trial detention of Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the Mother Armenia party and second candidate on the Prosperous Armenia Party's election list. The announcement was published on the party's Facebook page.

Tevanyan's lawyers said they will challenge the ruling before the Court of Cassation.

According to the statement, the defence had appealed the first-instance court's decision ordering Tevanyan's detention for two months, but the Criminal Court of Appeal declined to overturn the measure.

On May 22, law enforcement officers conducted searches at Tevanyan's home and at the Mother Armenia party headquarters. Later that day, Armenia's Central Election Commission approved a request to strip him of parliamentary immunity and allow criminal proceedings against him. On May 23, a court ordered his detention for two months.