Activist Gevorg Safaryan will remain in custody (video)
The Criminal Court of Appeal today rejected an appeal to change the restraint of activist Gevorg Safaryan, a member of the Founding Parliament movement detained on December 31 during clashes between police and demonstrators in capital Yerevan’s Liberty Square on New Year’s Eve, Gevorg’s lawyer, Tigran Hayrapetyan, told A1+. He said they are going to appeal to the Court of Cassation. On December 31, the police refused to allow opposition New Armenia activists to install a Christmas tree there. Safaryan and four more activists were detained by the police, but later all of them, except Safaryan, were released. Gevorg Safaryan is charged under Criminal Code Article 316.1 (violence against a government representative) and was placed by court under two-month custody. According to law enforcement agencies, Safaryan committed violence against police officer Gegham Khachatryan. New Armenia group members consider the charges unfounded. Witnesses say charges were to have been brought against Gegham Khachatryan, and not against Gevorg.
