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A court has approved a motion for pre-trial detention in absentia for another candidate who ran on the Strong Armenia ticket in the June 7 parliamentary election in connection with an ongoing vote-buying investigation.
The Investigative Committee said in a statement that the court granted the prosecution’s request to remand the suspect – Hayk Avagyan - in custody as a preventive measure. The individual remains at large.
The decision comes amid an ongoing investigation into alleged vote-buying and material inducement of voters involving members of the Strong Armenia bloc.
Earlier, two of the six candidates previously named in the case were detained after law enforcement agencies carried out arrests and the court ordered their pre-trial detention.
Arrest warrants for six members of the Strong Armenia bloc were issued on June 6 after the Electoral Commission approved prosecutors’ motion to bring charges as part of the investigation into alleged money laundering and vote-buying.
The investigation is ongoing.