MP slams continued detention of opposition podcaster Vazgen Saghatelyan

An Armenian opposition lawmaker said on Friday that a court had again refused to change the pretrial detention measure of opposition podcaster Vazgen Saghatelyan, arguing that his continued custody is effectively being used as punishment rather than a preventive measure.

Tigran Abrahamyan, a member of the Pativ Unem faction, met Saghatelyan at the Armavir Penitentiary earlier on Friday.

In a social media post following the visit, Abrahamyan described Saghatelyan’s detention as “legally inexplicable” and said it had “clear political overtones”, adding that the repeated refusal by the court to alter the preventive measure highlights a pattern of political retribution in the country.

“The court continues to reject motions to change Vazgen’s measure of restraint because detention in this case is being used as punishment,” Abrahamyan wrote.

He also called for the release of all political prisoners in Armenia.