Hovhannes Sahakyan, who arrived in Armenia from Moscow on election day, has been unable to return to his place of residence for about three months. The incident occurred after he attempted to fly from Zvartnots Airport to Moscow, but was detained by law enforcement officers.
The Investigative Committee has initiated criminal proceedings on charges of failure to report a crime. After being charged, a travel ban was imposed on him as a preventive measure. Today, Sahakyan's defense attorney is challenging the restrictions in court, awaiting a decision from the Criminal Court of Appeal.
The preliminary investigation, however, is not making significant progress within the framework of the initiated proceedings. In an interview on the day of the incident, Hovhannes Sahakyan had noted that he came to participate in the election and intended to return the same day, as he did not want to find himself in difficult situations with his children. Despite this intention, he remains in Armenia. There is currently no official information regarding the progress of the criminal proceedings or any new circumstances discovered by the investigative body.
This situation is particularly concerning in terms of the delay in the preliminary investigation. When a citizen is deprived of the opportunity to return to their place of residence for three consecutive months, while the case remains at the same stage, questions arise regarding the effectiveness of legal processes and the proportionality of preventive measures.
It is important to monitor whether the intervention of the Court of Appeal will change the nature of the restrictions. The silence of the investigative body regarding the details of the case only deepens the uncertainty, as the public remains unaware of what exactly is hindering the progress of the proceedings.
