Opposition mayor arrested upon arrival in Yerevan

David Ambartsumyan, mayor of Masis and the joint opposition candidate for Armenia’s prime minister, was arrested at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport immediately after arriving from Moscow.

Relatives and supporters had gathered at the airport to greet him, but the area was heavily cordoned off by police, Aysor reported.

A few days earlier, Ambartsumyan was sentenced to six years and three months in prison in connection with a seven-year-old case, although no witnesses reportedly testified against him in court.

While abroad, he had said he would not “run from Nikol and his obedient judicial system,” adding that his arrest would not stop his fight against the current government.