Court orders pre-trial detention for Strong Armenia candidate

A court has approved a motion for pre-trial detention in absentia for Hayk Avagyan, a candidate who ran on the Strong Armenia ticket in the June 7 parliamentary election, in connection with an ongoing vote-buying investigation. The Investigative Committee stated that the court granted the prosecution’s request to remand Avagyan in custody as a preventive measure. The individual remains at large.

This decision is part of an ongoing investigation into alleged vote-buying and material inducement of voters involving members of the Strong Armenia bloc. Earlier, two of the six candidates previously named in the case were detained after law enforcement agencies carried out arrests and the court ordered their pre-trial detention.

Arrest warrants for six members of the Strong Armenia bloc were issued on June 6 after the Electoral Commission approved prosecutors’ motion to bring charges as part of the investigation into alleged money laundering and vote-buying. The investigation is ongoing.