Judge Mkhitar Papoyan of the Armenian Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan on Wednesday extended Armenian National Congress activist Tigran Araqelyan’s pre-trial detention term by two months, reports local opposition daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”).<\/p>\n
Araqelyan has been in detention since Aug. 9, the daily continues. The Armenian National Congress late in late August suspended talks<\/strong><\/span><\/a> with the ruling coalition, stating that the existence of a “political prisoner” impedes the negotiating process.<\/p>\n HAK linked the resumption of that dialogue with Araqelyans release until this month, RFE\/RL’s Armenian service reported<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>. Its top leader, Levon Ter-Petrossian, signaled his readiness to drop this precondition as his bloc set up a tent camp in Yerevan\u2019s Liberty Square on Friday in a bid to heighten pressure on the Sargsyan administration. He said the renewed dialogue could run parallel to the nonstop demonstrations.<\/p>\n