The Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash administrative districts, presided by the judge Arshak Vardanyan, rejected the motion of the prosecutor to prolong the term of arrest towards the accused person Levon Hovhannisyan charged with the indictment for squandering in particularly large amount. L. Hovhannisyan’s defense attorney advocate Tamara Baghdasaryan said this in the interview with iravaban.net.
L. Hovhannisyan was charged under Article 179, Part 3, Point 1 of the RA Criminal Code and has been in custody since 1 October, 2015. Tamara Baghdasaryan said: “This is a unique case, as he is charged for a serious crime; the minimum sentence for this case is 5 years of imprisonment, alternative punishment is not defined”.
Notably, the specialists repeatedly speak about the existing practice, when arrest as a measure of restraint is decided even in case of not serious crimes; the investigators submit the arrest motion and the courts uphold the claims.
Tamara Baghdasaryan mentioned: “In this case the court decided proven that there were no investigative actions done during the last 2 months. And the defendant’s stay in custody cannot be justified. He will be released and a signature not to leave will be chosen as a measure of restraint.”
