Court imposes travel ban, $2.7 million bail on Armenia opposition MP-elect Narek Karapetyan

By Siranush Adamyan

A court has imposed a travel ban and set bail at 1 billion drams (about $2.7 million) for opposition MP-elect Narek Karapetyan, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday, a day after Armenia's Central Election Commission declined prosecutors' request to authorize his pretrial detention.

Karapetyan, who was elected to parliament in June on the ticket of the opposition Strong Armenia alliance, has been charged with coercing people to participate in or refrain from participating in a public gathering through violence, threats or blackmail, as well as money laundering on an especially large scale, prosecutors said.

The decision follows Wednesday's Central Election Commission ruling authorizing criminal proceedings against Karapetyan but returning prosecutors' request to place him in pretrial detention. The commission concluded it lacked the authority to decide whether an elected lawmaker could be deprived of liberty before the new parliament convenes.

Karapetyan officially received his parliamentary mandate after Armenia's parliamentary election results were certified earlier this week. Under Armenian law, until the newly elected National Assembly holds its first sitting on Aug. 2, the Central Election Commission is responsible for authorizing criminal proceedings against elected lawmakers. Once parliament convenes, prosecutors must seek lawmakers' consent to lift an MP's immunity before requesting detention.

Karapetyan's lawyer, Aram Vardevanyan, has dismissed the case as politically motivated and argued that prosecutors failed to substantiate the allegations during the commission's closed-door hearings. Prosecutors have not disclosed details of the money laundering allegations.