Legal team vows appeals over Khachatryan rulings

PanARMENIAN.Net - The legal team representing Artyom Khachatryan, the son of former State Revenue Committee chairman Gagik Khachatryan, and his nephew Aram Khachatryan says the family continues to face what it describes as politically motivated prosecution.

In a statement, the lawyers argued that after investigators failed to secure Gagik Khachatryan's detention, they sought pretrial detention for his son instead.

According to the statement, on the evening of July 2, Armenia's Anti-Corruption Court granted the prosecutor's motions to place Artyom and Aram Khachatryan in custody, citing their failure to attend two court hearings within one week.

The defense said it had submitted medical documents indicating that both men were temporarily unable to return to Armenia. According to those records, they underwent short-term medical treatment abroad, were prohibited from flying and would be able to appear in court only after completing treatment.

The lawyers argued that the primary purpose of detention was to ensure their clients' attendance at hearings and prevent further delays.

On that basis, the defense asked the court to postpone the hearing for five days, until July 6, 2026, when amendments to Armenia's Criminal Procedure Code were due to take effect. The changes, according to the statement, would allow defendants charged with serious or particularly serious crimes to request that hearings be held in their absence.

The legal team maintained that if Artyom and Aram Khachatryan had been allowed to submit such requests on July 7, the proceedings could have continued without interruption. Instead, the court rejected the postponement request, ruled that the medical documents did not justify their absence and issued detention orders the same day.

According to the lawyers, the detention decisions will prevent the hearings from proceeding for an extended period and therefore run counter to the interests of justice by disrupting the normal course of the trial.

“We state that the legal fight against what we consider politically motivated prosecutions carried out under the guise of criminal cases will continue not only in Armenian courts but also before international judicial bodies,” the statement said.

The lawyers also stated that law enforcement authorities had been aware that Artyom Khachatryan had been lawfully abroad on business since May 30, 2026, where he underwent short-term medical treatment due to health problems. They said the authorities had been informed of these circumstances in writing but nevertheless sought his detention.

The defense further argued that the prosecution's motions were unlawful and unfounded, while describing the court's ruling as contrary to the principles of law and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The statement also claimed that the political nature of the proceedings is reflected in public remarks by Armenia's prime minister.

According to the lawyers, representatives of the ruling authorities repeatedly said during the election campaign that numerous former officials should be arrested and their assets confiscated. They noted that Gagik Khachatryan's name was publicly mentioned and that senior officials questioned why he had not yet been detained.

The defense said that shortly afterward, on June 5, 2026, two days before the elections, officers of the National Security Service and investigators entered the homes of Gagik and Artyom Khachatryan to detain them over alleged actions dating back to 2010.

According to the statement, the same allegations had already been thoroughly examined in 2019, when investigators concluded that no crime had been committed. The lawyers argue that the case was revived without new evidence just before the elections and that neither Gagik nor Artyom Khachatryan had ever been summoned for questioning in connection with the case.

The legal team concluded that there is ample evidence, in its view, of unlawful actions and politically motivated prosecution.

On July 2, Armenia's Anti-Corruption Court granted prosecutors' motions in the criminal case involving Artyom Khachatryan and Aram Khachatryan. The court ordered both men into pretrial detention and ruled that the previously imposed bail of 200 million drams would be transferred to the state.