Armenian opposition podcast hosts detained for two months

Two hosts of the Imnemnimi podcast, Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan, were remanded in custody for two months following separate court hearings in Yerevan late on Thursday.

Saghatelyan’s detention was ordered by judge Roman Smbatyan of the Ajapnyak District Court of General Jurisdiction in Yerevan. His lawyer, Arsen Babayan, said the court also prohibited Saghatelyan from communicating with anyone except his family and legal counsel. Babayan called the ruling unlawful and unveiled plans to appeal it, noting that the charges related only to “hooliganism” and included no description of threats.

Samsonyan received an identical two-month detention order from judge Masis Melkonyan of the Avan District Court of General Jurisdiction. His lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, said the outcome was expected and that an appeal would be filed once the full court reasoning was released. Melikyan accused the authorities of contributing to what he described as the country’s “legal decline".

The opposition podcast co-hosts were arrested on Thursday morning after masked officers from the National Security Service raided their homes. Their arrests followed a complaint filed by National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan, who alleged that offensive remarks and threats had been made against him during a recent episode of the podcast.

The defense teams insist the case is politically motivated and say their clients were responding to earlier insults against them.