The trial of the arrested representatives of Mother Armenia has begun in Yerevan.

ArmInfo. On September 8, the trial of the arrested leader of the Mother Armenia party, Aram Khachaturyan, began in Yerevan. Andranik Tevanyan and political party board member Aregnaz Manukyan.

The hearing is taking place in the Yerevan Criminal Court, chaired by Judge John Hayrapetyan.

The day before, Argnaz Manukyan issued a statement in which she drew attention to the fact that the hearing would take place on the eve of the expiration of her arrest, citing the intention to prevent her release before the trial.

As a reminder, on May 21, the Investigative Committee (IC) of Armenia announced the initiation of a criminal case against Andranik Tevanyan for "treason and espionage." Tevanyan is accused of transferring information containing state secrets to a foreign state for $622,000. On the night of May 24, Tevanyan was placed under two-month arrest by court order. Moreover, according to Tevanyan's lawyer, Aram Orbelyan, there were no legal grounds for his client's arrest at the time. It should be added that the opposition figure's detention occurred on the direct orders of current Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Tevanyan himself called the investigation's allegations absurd, noting that he resigned his parliamentary mandate in 2023 and, therefore, such allegations by the Investigative Committee are groundless. On July 9, Aregnaz Manukyan, a member of the political council of the Mother Armenia party and former member of the Armenian parliament, was arrested and then placed under two-month arrest. According to the Investigative Committee, a public criminal prosecution has been initiated against Aregnaz Manukyan under Part 1 of Article 427 of the Criminal Code (disclosure of information containing a state secret). The investigative actions were carried out as part of a criminal case of espionage and treason, in which Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the Mother Armenia party, was previously arrested. Manukyan is suspected of passing classified information regarding the Armenian Armed Forces to Tevanyan, which was presented at a closed meeting in parliament.

On August 18, the investigation into the case was completed, and the materials were sent to court, however, both Tevanyan and Manukyan remain in pretrial detention.