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Tuesday, February 11, 2025
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Armenian court releases opposition mayor of Goris

28.03.2022, 15:48
A court in Goris, a town in the southeastern province of Syunik,  chaired by Judge Gnel Gasparyan, has ruled today to release Arush Arushanyan, the opposition mayor of Goris and several surrounding communities more than five months after Arushanyan's  opposition bloc won the local self-government election.
Armenian court releases opposition mayor of Goris

YEREVAN, March 28, /ARKA/. A court in Goris, a town in the southeastern province of Syunik, chaired by Judge Gnel Gasparyan, has ruled today to release Arush Arushanyan, the opposition mayor of Goris and several surrounding communities more than five months after Arushanyan's opposition bloc won the local self-government election.

Arushanyan was charged with violation of the secrecy of voting, abuse of power, illegal business, fraud and arbitrariness. He was arrested shortly after the June 2021 snap parliamentary elections.

The criminal case against him was based on incriminating testimony given by head of a village who according to prosecutors was ordered by Arushanyan to provide financial aid to local residents in return for voting for the opposition Hayastan.(Armenia) bloc. The village chief reportedly withdrew her testimony later

Today's court decision found Arushanyan partially guilty and sentenced him to 1.5 years in prison, of which 8 months he spent in custody. The rest of the prison term is suspended. In addition, Arushanyna was banned from holding positions in the local government system for 5 years and sentenced to a fine of 700 minimum wages.

In October 17, 2021 local self-government elections, the Arush Arushanyan bloc won the majority of votes in the Goris community of Syunik province, defeating Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party by a wide margin. The election was held three months after Arushanyan's arrest, who was mayor of Goris. He and mayors of several other provincial towns demanded the resignation of Pashinyan ahead of the snap parliamentary polls. --0--