Preliminary probe in case against Armenian opposition activists over

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case involving opposition activists Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan, co-hosts of the Imnemnimi podcast, has been completed, their lawyers report.

Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan were given two-month pretrial detention on 22 March on charges of hooliganism after using slur language to criticize Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government for their plans to make territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. If found guilty, they could face up to five years in prison.

“May 2, the investigator conducting the proceedings notified us of the completion of the preliminary probe of the criminal case against political prisoners Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan. Thus, the case has to go to court in a few days, with the first court hearing to be scheduled in about two weeks,” the defense lawyers, Ruben Melikyan and Arsen Babayan, said in a statement on Friday.

“We will thoroughly address the issues concerning the persecution of Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan at a news conference in the near future,” they added.