Judge`s illegal actions proof of overt political persecution - ex-minister of defense
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ArmInfo. The illegal actions of the judge and the tolerance of higher courts prove the clearly expressed and overtly political nature of the criminal prosecution against me, reads a statement by ex-minister of defense of Armenia David Tonoyan.
In particular, he recalled that on April 18, Judge Vahe Dolmazyan again rejected the defense's request to change the preventive measure, citing even stranger justifications.
Tonoyan said that this time the judge "invented" a new reason for continuing to keep him in custody, justifying this by the fact that the latter uses the services of a foreign lawyer for his defense. "And this gives the judge a "reasonable" reason to suspect that, having been released from arrest, I can go to the Russian Federation under the pretext of protecting some of my rights and stay there, avoiding criminal liability," noted the former Minister of Defense.
However, this risk, according to him, can very easily be neutralized by applying a travel ban as a preventive measure, according to which crossing the RA border will be possible only with the permission of a judge.
"The judge is trying to ensure my continued detention by inventing new implausible grounds. And the fact that he considers Russia as a possible place where I can hide gives the matter a geopolitical connotation," Tonoyan emphasized.
In this regard, he called on the Ombudsman of Armenia to pay attention to such unlawful actions of the judge and other issues raised by him.
David Tonoyan is a defendant in a criminal case related to abuses in the process of supplying ammunition, including missiles. The head of the company supplying weapons to Armenia, David Galstyan, and the former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Stepan Galstyan are also accused in this case. The ex-minister has been in custody since September 2021.
In particular, he recalled that on April 18, Judge Vahe Dolmazyan again rejected the defense's request to change the preventive measure, citing even stranger justifications.
Tonoyan said that this time the judge "invented" a new reason for continuing to keep him in custody, justifying this by the fact that the latter uses the services of a foreign lawyer for his defense. "And this gives the judge a "reasonable" reason to suspect that, having been released from arrest, I can go to the Russian Federation under the pretext of protecting some of my rights and stay there, avoiding criminal liability," noted the former Minister of Defense.
However, this risk, according to him, can very easily be neutralized by applying a travel ban as a preventive measure, according to which crossing the RA border will be possible only with the permission of a judge.
"The judge is trying to ensure my continued detention by inventing new implausible grounds. And the fact that he considers Russia as a possible place where I can hide gives the matter a geopolitical connotation," Tonoyan emphasized.
In this regard, he called on the Ombudsman of Armenia to pay attention to such unlawful actions of the judge and other issues raised by him.
David Tonoyan is a defendant in a criminal case related to abuses in the process of supplying ammunition, including missiles. The head of the company supplying weapons to Armenia, David Galstyan, and the former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Stepan Galstyan are also accused in this case. The ex-minister has been in custody since September 2021.