Court extends Armenian opposition podcasters' detention

A Yerevan court has extended the pretrial detention of opposition activists Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan, co-hosts of the Imnemnimi podcast, by three months.

Judge Manvel Shahverdyan of the Nor Nork District Court of First Instance granted a motion by the prosecutor to prolong their detention on Friday.

“This decision means they can do whatever they want to anyone,” defense lawyer Ruben Melikyan said, calling the proceedings a “farce” and adding that the ruling would be appealed.

Arsen Babayan, Saghatelyan’s lawyer, said the decision was “absurd”, noting that the Court of Appeals had previously ruled that Samsonyan should be under house arrest. As a result, Babayan said the lower court should have considered extending house arrest rather than detention.