Lawyer: Court hears motion to extend ARF member's detention

The Yerevan Criminal Court started hearing a motion to extend the pre-trial detention of senior ARF member Gerasim Vardanyan late on Tuesday afternoon, his lawyer told reporters.

Vardanyan was arrested in June and charged with forcing and paying people to attend anti-government protests in Yerevan based on a leaked phone conversation.

Lawyer Sergey Harutyunyan called the ARF activist’s detention unlawful, accusing the authorities of targeting the opposition party.