Armenian court again arrests ex-deputy defense minister Grigoryan
YEREVAN. Jan 22 (Interfax) - An appeals court in Armenia has ruled to arrest former MP and former deputy defense minister Manvel Grigoryan, who has been charged with the illegal possession of weapons and large-scale misappropriation, for a second time.
"A decision on his arrest has been adopted. This decision is lawful and substantiated," Prosecutor Vahagn Muradyan told reporters after the hearing on Tuesday.
Grigoryan was released after posting a bail of 25 million dram, or $51,500, on December 21, 2018. His lawyer said earlier that Grigoryan suffers from a serious illness and should not be incarcerated.
Retired Lt. Gen. Grigoryan was arrested on June 19, 2018 and stripped of his parliamentary seat. He was a member of the Republican Party faction headed by former president Serzh Sargsyan.
Following Grigoryan's release, protests demanding that he be arrested again took place in Yerevan and the town of Echmiadzin. Demonstrators said that Grigoryan should be held in custody because he "stole goods intended for servicemen."