I have not been provided with either the decision to initiate a criminal case or the decision to arrest, so I cannot comment, but I have been here since 9 am and cannot enter. Lawyer Abgar Poghosyan reported this today, July 10, in a conversation with journalists near the building of the Yerevan Criminal Investigation Department.
In addition, I initially called the office of the Human Rights Defender, and the staff of the Ombudsman’s office were in the building of the investigative body for about 30 minutes. Before entering the building, they told me that they had come here to clarify and resolve these issues, but in fact, even after the intervention of the staff of the Ombudsman’s office, it was not possible to enter.
Moreover, while we were standing here, we witnessed how the investigative resources of all the city’s investigative departments were mobilized at the Yerevan City Hall, investigators from different departments arrived with materials and entered the building of the investigative department. This means that a group has been created, possibly from all departments, to support and assist in this case.
I assume that Taron Manukyan was arrested in custody. Even without seeing the case materials, I can say with confidence that the ongoing processes have nothing to do with jurisprudence, and it is inappropriate for us to give them a legal interpretation and explanation. “We have legitimate expectations. What is presented to the public certainly has nothing to do with real actions,” the lawyer said.
He noted that although the public criminal prosecution is related to the preparation of a terrorist attack, a mobile phone belonging to his father, MP Gegham Manukyan, was seized from Taron Manukyan’s apartment. “Okay, after all, who is this criminal prosecution being carried out against now – against the opposition or against the person whose name is indicated in the search warrant?
These words sound so pompous, but all of this is absurd, this is just some text written on a white sheet of paper that has nothing to do with reality. Look, we actually see that Gevorg Muradyan is not deprived of his freedom, he has the status of a witness, but, nevertheless, his right to freedom is being restricted,” said Argam Poghosyan.
Referring to the fact that they are still not allowed to enter, he said: “With this they want to show how defenseless these people are, and how much they can trample on their rights if necessary. This is just a step to show these people what a difficult situation they are in, and how much they can endlessly violate human rights.”
The lawyer also noted: “In fact, the state, using the entire law enforcement system, is trying to prevent people, members of the National Assembly and others from exercising their rights.”
When asked whether he connects this case with the case of Bagrat Galstanyan, he replied: “I generally connect all cases together. I definitely connect all cases aimed at exerting political pressure on people together, they cannot be considered separately, another question is who will describe what.”