A Yerevan court today has approved the request of investigators to detain a woman arrested in the May 17 alleged kidnapping of Ashot Pashinyan, the son of Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

Gayaneh Hakobyan, the mother of Zhora Martirosyan, a solider who died in the war, allegedly drove off with Ashot Pashinyan after he got in her car to discuss the consequences of the war.

Hakobyan’s lawyer Vahan Hovhannisyan told reporters the court rejected his complaint regarding the legality of the arrest.

 "It was incomprehensible to us, because the process of considering the petition could not lead to such a decision," said the lawyer.

Hovhannisyan said that Hakobyan is continuing her hunger strike in protest.

Relatives of servicemen killed during the 2020 Karabakh war gathered in the courtyard of the court and blocked the street, demanding Hakobyan’s release.