Armenian intellectuals demanded transparency in the trial of the Mother Armenia leader

ArmInfo. Intellectuals have demanded transparency in the trial of Mother Armenia party leader Andranik Tevanyan, who is being charged with treason.

In a statement distributed by the Mother Armenia movement on its Facebook page, prominent cultural figures expressed deep concern over Tevanyan's criminal prosecution, noting that it is politically motivated. In this regard, they recalled how, in the run-up to the 2026 National Assembly elections, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan publicly gave instructions to initiate a criminal case against Tevanyan, the second candidate on the Prosperous Armenia party's election list, after which a decision was made to arrest him.

"The Republic of Armenia cannot be considered a democratic state if political opponents of the government are deprived of their liberty and publicly portrayed as traitors to the Motherland. The initial unfounded accusation was subsequently refuted and replaced with another—in our opinion, a fabricated charge of disclosing state secrets—which is being heard behind closed doors. This is unprecedented even for the Armenian justice system. Tevanyan is known to the public as a patriot and statesman, so the "accusation" brought against him is unfounded." "This is causing outrage and bewilderment among many, including us, which gives rise to a just demand for transparency in the judicial process," the intellectuals emphasized.

They noted that political struggle should end at the polls, not in prison cells. In their opinion, this type of government behavior undermines public trust in state institutions, which only exacerbates an atmosphere of indifference and disappointment with Armenian statehood. "Today, society is under stress. The people are being deliberately divided into opposing camps, hate speech has become commonplace, and endless political trials are part of our daily lives. We demand that all rights to Tevanyan's defense be ensured and that the judiciary be truly independent. We demand public justice, not secretive trials that give grounds to believe that what is happening is a political reprisal. We choose the rule of law and demand the same from the ruling party." "Freedom for Andranik Tevanyan and all political prisoners!" the intellectuals concluded.

As a reminder, on May 21, the Investigative Committee of Armenia announced the opening 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 pretrial detention by court order. Moreover, according to Tevanyan's lawyer, Aram Orbelyan, there were no legal grounds for his client's detention at the time. It should be added that the opposition leader's arrest occurred on the direct orders of current Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Tevanyan himself called the investigation's claims absurd, noting that he resigned from his parliamentary mandate back in 2023 and, therefore, such claims by the Investigative Committee are groundless. And already on July 9, Aregnaz Manukyan, a member of the political council of the Mother Armenia party and former member of the Armenian parliament, was detained and then placed under two-month arrest. According to the Investigative Committee, a public criminal prosecution was 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 on espionage and treason, in which the leader of the Mother Armenia party, Andranik Tevanyan, 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, but both Tevanyan and Manukyan remained in pretrial detention. On September 8, the arrest of the leader of the Mother Armenia party was extended for three months. And on September 22, the pretrial detention of Mother Armenia party board member Aregnaz Manukyan was changed to house arrest with a ban on communication with others.