Appellate court orders young Artsakh protester's release

The Court of Criminal Appeals in Yerevan has ordered the release of a young man from Artsakh who was arrested during anti-government protests in Yerevan in September, his lawyer Arsen Babayan said.

Presiding judge Narine Hovakimyan on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling to detain 18-year-old Marat Hakobyan for two months. The court found he was unlawfully detained, Babayan added.

“I am going to take Marat home from prison. His mother has long been waiting for it,” the lawyer wrote on Facebook.