Court rejects petition to release Gevorg Safaryan on bail (video)
The Criminal Court of Appeal has rejected a petition to view the restraint of civil activist Gevorg Safaryan and release him on bail. Lawyer Tigran Hayrapetyan believes that the court had no reason to refuse them. “Neither the prosecutor nor the investigator showed up at the sitting. They did not object to the motion either which means the presiding judge had no grounds for refuse us. But ... the judge was reading the decision with a sympathetic look on his face and, we understand that he did not agree with the ruling. Unfortunately, our court cannot take independent decisions,” the lawyer said. Gevorg Safaryan was detained during clashes between police and demonstrators in Yerevan’s Liberty Square on New Year’s Eve. He was immediately charged with using violence against a government representative and was placed under two-month custody. Safaryan will be set free on April 1.
