Former Yerevan mayor and ex-transport and communications minister Gagik Beglaryan will remain in pretrial detention for another two months.

His lawyer, Hrant Ananyan, described the decision by Anti-Corruption Criminal Court Judge Aram Grigoryan as unjust, A1+ reports.

Ananyan recalled that during the previous detention hearing, another judge from the same court had only partially granted the investigator's request, finding that one additional month was sufficient for the required investigative actions given their scope.

“The Anti-Corruption Court has effectively disregarded its own previous ruling,” the lawyer said.

During a three-hour address to the court, Ananyan argued in detail that there were no legal grounds to continue holding Beglaryan in custody under strict isolation.

Under the law, the detention ruling must be provided to the parties within three hours of its announcement. According to the lawyer, nearly 24 hours have passed, but the defense has yet to receive the document. He said an appeal will be filed with the Court of Appeal once the ruling is delivered.

Beglaryan is charged with allegedly abusing his official position in 2012 and laundering particularly large sums of money. He has been in custody since June 5 and denies the accusations.