ArmInfo. On February 19, judge of the court of general jurisdiction Mnatsakan Martirosyan granted the request of the investigator to extend the arrest of the director of Channel 5 Armen Tavadyan.
Armen Tavadyan will remain under arrest for another 2 months. As Tavadyan's lawyer Arman Orbelian stated in an interview with reporters, the defenders of the "Channel 5" owner submitted a motion to release their client on bail, which was rejected. Orbelian also emphasized that the lawyers were not provided with the text of the court decision. "When the text is presented to us, we will analyze it and discuss our further actions. At the moment, I see no reason why Tavadyan's arrest could be extended for another 2 months," the lawyer said.
It should be noted that the owner of Channel 5 Armen Tavadyan is suspected of trying to bribe a witness in order to change his testimony in the case of March 1, 2008. Earlier, a video was published by the Police, according to which, it was reported, one of the supporters of former President of Armenia Robert Kocharian suggested that the witness in the "March 1 case" change his testimony in exchange for money and a good position. Tavadyan himself and his lawyers regard the case as political persecution, as the owner of Channel 5 supported the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian.