Garnik Markaryan arrested in Yerevan

The court has pronounced the decision on the two-month arrest of Garnik Markaryan, the leader of the Armenian "Homeland and Honour" Party, who is suspected of involvement in the grouping of Arthur Vardanyan. Garnik Markaryan treats his prosecution as a political reprisal.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in November 2015, the Armenian law enforcement bodies began detaining suspected members of the criminal grouping, which, according to investigators, was led by Arthur Vardanyan, who lived abroad. At present, at least 24 people have been detained. The case involves Vaan Shirkhanyan, former Deputy Minister of Defence, Vladimir Arakelyan, a major shareholder of the "Yegvard Sports Shoe Factory", and Garnik Markaryan, Chairman of the "Homeland and Honour" Party. The latter two were detained on January 15.

The defence has filed a motion for the release of Garnik Markaryan on bail. However, the court has considered that, if at large, the suspect could hinder the investigation.

Ovik Arsenyan, an advocate of the politician, does not deny that Garnik Markaryan met Arthur Vardanyan; however, their talk was only of foreign policy. The advocate notes that on the basis of a single meeting, no one can say that Garnik Markaryan is involved in the criminal grouping.

Let us remind you that earlier, Arthur Vardanyan has announced his participation in the combat against the "Islamic State" (IS) (recognized in Russia and a number of other countries as a terrorist organization, note of the "Caucasian Knot") to protect the Armenians in the territory of Syria.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.