Court removes restrictions from Artsakh scholar 

ArmInfo. The Criminal Court of Appeal granted the defense's complaint in the case of Artsakh scientist, chairman of the public organization "Independent Center  for Strategic Studies" Garib Babayan, lifting the previously  established restrictions on the right to public expression of  opinions. Lawyer Abgar Poghosyan reported this on his Facebook  account. 

As the lawyer explained, the court made this decision due to the lack  of "reasonable doubts." In this regard, Poghosyan recalled that,  according to the investigative bodies, Garib Babayan was accused of  inciting hatred, discrimination and intolerance based on political  views towards the Armenian authorities and police officers using  information and communication technologies. "Proceedings aimed at  protecting Azerbaijanis should become indigestible. Long live  justice!" the lawyer wrote.

On January 30 of this year, a video was published on the page of the  Independent Center for Strategic Studies, in which, according to  Garib Babayan, a group of Azerbaijanis were singing the song  "Karabakh is ours" in the Republic Square. Babayan described this as  a disgrace and wondered where the police were and why Armenia  continued to show tolerance towards the traitorous authorities. This  caused a wide public outcry. In this regard, the NSS issued a  statement, noting that the group of citizens singing in Azerbaijani  in the center of Yerevan were Iranian citizens who visited Armenia in  early January. Later, the NSS sent the case to the Investigative  Committee against Babayan for disseminating a public statement  inciting hatred towards the authorities and police officers. As a  result, on February 2, Babayan was detained on the basis of a  criminal case initiated against him.

And already on the night of February 3, the court rejected the  Investigative Committee's motion to arrest Garib Babayan. At that  time, the situation outside the court was tense. Hundreds of citizens  came to the court to support Babayan. Then a preventive measure was  chosen against him in the form of administrative supervision with a  restriction on the right to public speaking.