Gyumri mayor moved to house arrest

The Armenian Anti-Corruption Court on Friday replaced the pretrial detention of Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan with three months of house arrest and set bail at 15 million drams.

The ruling came after prosecutors sought to extend Ghukasyan's detention by three more months.

Judge Levon Petrosyan said the court had concluded that the risk of the defendant obstructing the proceedings had diminished.

"The court finds that the risk of the defendant interfering with the investigation has, in essence, decreased to some extent. The continuation of the strictest preventive measure is no longer unquestionably necessary," Petrosyan said.

According to the indictment, Ghukasyan is accused of demanding a bribe of 4 million drams, together with Henrik Gasparyan, the former chief architect of Gyumri, in exchange for patronage, tolerance and other unlawful actions benefiting Sevak Gomtsyan.

The indictment also accuses Ghukasyan of committing official forgery in prior collusion with a group of public officials.

Ghukasyan has denied the charges as politically motivated.