Gevorg Nersisyan, the brother of Catholicos of All Armenians Кareкin II, and his nephew Hambardzum Nersisyan have been released from house arrest.

Administrative supervision has been imposed instead, according to a decision announced during a court hearing, reports Panorama.am .

“Given the prolonged period spent under restrictions on liberty, the risks of improper behavior by the defendants have significantly decreased. Under these circumstances, the court finds it necessary to replace house arrest with administrative supervision,” the judge said.

“The court decides to replace the house arrest imposed on defendants Gevorg Nersisyan and Hambardzum Nersisyan with administrative supervision, while maintaining the other preventive measures, including bail and the travel ban,” the ruling stated.

Gevorg and Hambardzum Nersisyan are accused under Article 211, Part 2, Clause 5 of Armenia’s Criminal Code of coercing individuals to participate in or refrain from campaign activities, or obstructing campaigning, as part of a group.

They were initially detained following a complaint filed by Harutyun Mkrtchyan, the mayoral candidate of the Republic party in Vagharshapat.