Arsen Gevorgyan died in the pre-trial detention center.

Arsen Gevorgyan, an opposition candidate for the head of the Stepanavan community, arrested on charges of bribing voters, died in the Yerevan pre-trial detention center "Nubarashen." According to preliminary reports, the cause of death was a heart attack.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 21, searches were conducted at the homes of supporters of the "Strong Armenia" party in Stepanavan, resulting in the detention of 14 people, including candidate Arsen Gevorgyan. The court arrested Gevorgyan for two months on charges of bribing voters. The opposition rejected the accusations and called the actions of the security forces political persecution ahead of the municipal elections on October 25.

Arsen Gevorgyan, who headed the list of the opposition party "Strong Armenia" in the municipal elections in Stepanavan, died on the morning of November 10 in the correctional institution "Nubarashen" in Yerevan. The death of the 46-year-old politician was confirmed by the Armenian Ministry of Justice's Penitentiary Service.

Due to Gevorgyan's deteriorating health, a duty paramedic was called in the morning of November 10, who provided him with first aid. Around 07:55, an ambulance was called for the inmate, and approximately at 08:30 (07:30 Moscow time), doctors confirmed his death, reported the head of the public relations department of the Armenian Penitentiary Service Nona Navikyan, whose words were cited today by News.am.

"During his time in the correctional institution, Arsen Gevorgyan did not complain about his health condition," said the statement from the Penitentiary Service.

The presumed cause of Gevorgyan's death was a heart attack, Aysor.am reported today.

The "Strong Armenia" party blamed the initiators of the criminal prosecution of opposition members for Gevorgyan's death. Party representatives stated that Gevorgyan was detained on fabricated charges as part of a campaign to discredit political opponents of the authorities before the elections.

"The responsibility for the death of yet another opposition figure in prison lies with the person who orders the baseless discrediting and imprisonment of hundreds of people," said the party's statement, which was cited today by the Armenian publication Verelq News.

Opposition parliament member from the "Armenia" bloc Kristine Vardanyan also placed the responsibility for Gevorgyan's death on the initiators of his arrest and the judges who made the decision to detain him. According to her, the responsibility also lies with those who mock the health problems of the accused and ignore medical conclusions, noted today by 24News.am.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that a number of opposition members in Armenia have faced criminal and administrative prosecution. Thus, on November 4, security forces conducted searches at 65 addresses related to the leader of "Strong Armenia" Samvel Karapetyan and his entourage, after which Karapetyan was taken to investigators. His associates considered the new charges politically motivated.

On October 23, the Anti-Corruption Court extended the detention of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan and his son Sedrak, who are accused in a corruption case related to the acquisition of state property at undervalued prices and the use of property and shares of companies to obtain bribes. The opposition called the criminal case against Kocharyan political persecution.

On June 7, the day of parliamentary elections in Armenia, security forces detained about 20 supporters of the opposition blocs "Strong Armenia" and "Armenia" in Gyumri. Party representatives stated that the actions of the authorities were aimed at weakening support for the opposition.