Rights defenders treat arrest of Ashot Minasyan as political

A year later, the court has satisfied a complaint of the prosecutor's office and arrested Ashot Minasyan, accused of an attempt on the life of the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan. The prosecutor's speculation that Minasyan could hide or interfere with the inquiry speaks in favour of the version of a political order, Nina Karapetyants believes. The atmosphere of fear reigns in the country's judicial system, Avetik Ishkhanyan has noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in November 2020, Ashot Minasyan, the leader of the "Ashot Yerkat" volunteer detachment, was detained and charged with preparation of Premier's assassination and an attempt to usurp the power.

On November 12, the leaders of four political parties and eight oppositionists were suspected of organizing a rally during the martial law and divulging state secrets. Arthur Vanetsyan, the head of the "Fatherland" Party, was among the suspects; after the 2018 "velvet revolution", he was appointed the head of the Armenia's National Security Service (NSS), but in September 2019, was dismissed due to disagreements with Pashinyan. On November 14, Arthur Danielyan, the head of the oppositional "Adekvad" movement, was detained on suspicion of inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred.

The arrest of Minasyan is a clear proof of the inadequacy of the judicial system, Mikhran Pogosyan, a lawyer, has stated.

Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, has noted that courts are most often satisfying investigators' groundless justifications and pass arrest decisions.

Avetik Ishkhanyan, the head of the Armenian Helsinki Committee, has treated Minasyan's arrest as a politically-based persecution. According to his version, after Pashinyan came to power in 2018, the initiation of criminal cases without due legal grounds has become traditional.