Come next January, 36 year-old Vahram Antonyan will have served two years behind bars after having been found guilty of selling drugs.

Other than the testimony of one person from his village, no other incriminating evidence was presented during the trial. Even weirder is the fact that the same person was found guilty of providing false denunciation in the case.

On December 24, 2009, Armavir police found 25 grams of marijuana at a bakery next to the home of Samvel Poghosyan in the village of Jrarat.

Vrouyr, Vahram's brother, says that afterwards Samvel gave the cops some names of people who were taken in for questioning. They were later released.

"They even searched our home but came up empty handed. A month later, about 6-7 cops returned. Vahram was sick in bed. They roused him and took him in," says Vrouyr.

During the pre-trial examination, Samvel Poghosyan testified that he had offered four people some marijuana. He retracted this testimony in the presence of the four individuals. This is why he was charged with false denunciation.

Samvel was fined 200,000 AMD, a much lighter sentence than the years he would have spent in jail for offering drugs to others.

Attorney Mnatsakan Sargsyan says that the police found the drugs in the presence of witnesses to the search. In court, they testified that at the time, Samvel Poghosyan had stated that the drugs belonged to his brother.

"The name of Vahram never came up," says Sargsyan.

At the trial, Samvel Poghosyan stated during questioning that he was a casual user of marijuana to calm his liver pain. Poghosyan said he grew the plant in his yard and never purchased it.

Later, Prosecutor Davit Baroyan, assuming the prerogative of the judge, reminded Samvel that he could refuse to testify without any negative consequences. Samvel Poghosyan declared that he was sticking by his pre-trial testimony.

Attorney Sargsyan says that Poghosyan offered conflicting testimony in the pre-trial examination.

"At first, Poghosyan says he uses drugs to calm his liver pain and knowing that Vahram sells drugs went to him. He testified that Vahram gave him some marijuana, saying that Samvel was a good guy, and that Samvel gave him some cigarettes and a bottle of vodka in return. Elsewhere, Samvel stated that in November, 2009, he met Vahram by chance in the village and that Vahram asked him for some liquor and that he paid him off in drugs."

In March of 2010, the Armavir court sentenced Samvel Poghosyan to six months on the charge of "obtaining large quantities of drugs for personal use".

The same court sentenced Vahram Antonyan to 6.5 years for selling drugs.

Vahram Antonyan has claimed his innocence from the start.

In June, 2010, an Appeals Court overturned the lower court's ruling.

In April of this year, the Armavir Court again found Vahram guilty, this time sentencing him to 6 years.

Two months later, in June, the Appeals Court overturned this verdict as well.

The case is now waiting to be heard in the Armavir Court of First Instance – for the third time.

"When they arrested my brother, I went to see Investigator Armen Oumurshatyan. He said 'I have 200 witnesses to say your brother is a drug seller.' This was the extent of our conversation. So where are these 200 witnesses? Couldn't they find just one? The whole case is based on trumped-up charges and lies. They have decided to try my brother and they have," says Vrouyr Antonyan.

Attorney Sargsyan says that naturally the court cannot find someone guilty based solely on the testimony of one person, especially when this person has been found guilty of perjury.

Sargsyan says he will do everything in his power to get his client proclaimed innocent.