Manukyan refuses to plead guilty to coup d'etat calls

The Investigative Committee of Armenia charged Vazgen Manukyan, a candidate for prime minister from the Armenian opposition, for calling to overthrow the government and then obliged him to sign recognizance not to leave. The oppositionist denied the accusations brought against him by the investigators.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 3, straight at a rally, Vazgen Manukyan, the candidate for prime minister from the opposition "Movement to Save the Motherland", got a summons stating that after his speech at a rally on February 20, a criminal case had been instituted against him under the article on calling to overthrow the government.

Today, Vazgen Manukyan has been summoned for an interrogation at the Investigative Committee of Armenia, where he was charged under Article 301 "Public calls for seizing power, violating territorial integrity or violent overthrow of the constitutional order" of the Criminal Code of Armenia, reports an officer of the press service for the Investigative Committee of Armenia. "A recognizance not to leave has been chosen as a pre-trial restriction measure against Vazgen Manukyan," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learned from the Investigative Committee's press officer.

Vazgen Manukyan said that he did not admit the charges brought against him and called the criminal case a political persecution. According to the opposition politician's version, there are no violations of the law in his appeals. "This is a nationwide appeal, since the society demands the Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. And I'm only one of those who voiced the demand," Vazgen Manukyan said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 4, 2021 at 12:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.