Artur Sargsyan, a deputy of the 9th convocation of Armenia’s National Assembly elected on the list of the Armenia bloc, will remain under house arrest.

Although defense attorney Aram Vardevanyan had petitioned to lift the deputy's house arrest, a Yerevan court today rejected the petition.

"From the moment of obtaining the status of a deputy, a person cannot be deprived of his liberty in any other way than with the consent of the National Assembly," Vardevanyan noted in the petition.

Sargsyan is one of the eighteen defendants in the “Holy Struggle” case charged with terrorism and attempting to seize power in Armenia.

State Prosecutor Hayk Hovhannisyan, in court, said that Artur Sargsyan continues to be a deputy of the 8th convocation of the National Assembly, and from August 2 he will continue to have the powers of a deputy, therefore the petition is devoid of substance and should be rejected.

The court did not agree with the defense team’s reasoning that Artur Sargsyan is subject to release from house arrest because he is an MP and rejected the motion.

The court also ruled that the house arrest of Igor Sargsyan, another defendant in the case, will be replaced by administrative supervision given his poor health.