Judge Boris Bakhshiyan to be released soon, lawyer says

Judge Boris Bakhshiyan of a first instance court in Armenia’s Syunik Province will be released from pre-trial custody soon if “new unlawful decisions” are not made, his lawyer Arsen Sardaryan said on Thursday.

"The deadline for filing another motion to extend the arrest of judge Boris Bakhshiyan has expired, but it was not done. In other words, if new illegalities are not committed against Bakhshiyan, he will be released on May 7 at the latest,” he wrote on Facebook.

Also, the lawyer says the Court of Appeals is set to hear their appeal against the extension of Bakhshiyan's arrest on Friday.

The judge was arrested on 7 February shortly after granting bail to jailed opposition figure and war veteran Ashot Minasyan. He had earlier ordered the release of opposition Kajaran Mayor Manvel Paramazyan and Deputy Mayor of Goris Menua Hovsepyan.

Bakhshiyan is accused of illegally arresting a defendant, Nver Mkrtchyan, in a trial presided over by him. However, he rejects the charges as politically motivated.