Epress.am News from Armenia
The trial against Tigran Postanjyan, brother of opposition MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, wrapped up moments ago at the Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun Administrative Districts in Yerevan today.
Tigran Postanjyan was granted amnesty and has already left the court building.
Recall, according to Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s office, Tigran Postanjyan, who works for the local government of Yerevan’s Arabkir district, was paid 100,000 drams (about $275 US) last September to turn a blind eye to illegal construction carried out by an unnamed local resident. A criminal case was later instituted under Article 311 Section 1 (taking bribes by a state official) of the RA Criminal Code.
During the trial today, the judge ruled that the general amnesty declared by Armenian Serzh Sargsyan and approved by parliament last week will also apply to Tigran Postanjyan — if he agrees.
According to Tigran Postanjyan, he would’ve been prepared to prove his innocence if the court changed the precautionary measure and if he would’ve been released (that is, not kept in detention) during the trial. If these conditions cannot be met, then he is prepared to accept the amnesty granted to him.
The accused also stated that he would’ve never agreed to the amnesty and was prepared to fight “till the end,” however, degrading prison conditions forced him to accept the amnesty.
Recall, Zaruhi Postanjyan announced on May 17 that her brother had begun a hunger strike to protest prison conditions. Since then, a number of human rights campaigners and NGOs appealed to local as well as international agencies, noting that Tigran Postanjyan was being persecuted for political reasons.