On July 17, an Armenian appeals court denied the request to release Armen Ashotyan, a prominent opposition politician arrested last month. The opposition politician, along with his Republican Party, maintains that the charges against him are politically motivated.

Since last November, Ashotyan has faced charges of abuse of power and money laundering relating to his former position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Yerevan’s Mkhitar Heratsi Medical University. The allegations against him pertain to property acquisitions conducted by the university administration under his alleged instructions. Ashotyan strongly denies these accusations. The Investigative Committee of Armenia asserts that these transactions resulted in significant financial harm to the state-run university.

Following his arrest on June 15, Ashotian was additionally charged with the misuse of public funds by the law enforcement agency. They claimed this charge stemmed from his purported efforts to impede their investigation.

The opposition party led by former President Serzh Sarkisyan has denounced the arrest of Ashotian, viewing it as a retaliatory measure by the government in response to his strong criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Ashotian held significant positions during Serzh Sarkisyan’s presidency, serving as the Minister of Education from 2012 to 2016 and later chairing the Armenian Parliament’s Foreign relations committee.

Ashotyan’s lawyer submitted a request to the Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals, urging them to overturn the lower court’s ruling that permitted the investigators to keep his client in pre-trial detention for at least two months. However, the appeal was denied by one of the high court judges.