Prosecutor’s Office rejects release of Armenian TV station owner upon personal guarantees

The Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office has denied a defense motion to release Fifth Channel owner Armen Tavadyan upon personal guarantees, his lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan told Pastinfo.

The Special Investigative Service arrested Tavadyan in December on suspicion of seeking false testimony in favor of Armenia’s jailed former President Robert Kocharyan.

“With a final decision not yet made, the investigator had already filed a motion to extend his arrest. It’s obvious that the Prosecutor's Office did not even want to consider the grounds for this petition,” Khudoyan noted.

Former Deputy National Assembly Speaker Arpine Hovhannisyan, former Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan, first Armenian Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan, political technologist Karen Kocharyan, to name a few, had offered personal guarantees for the release of the TV station owner.