Robert Kocharyan's defence blames Armenian authorities for violating promises

The charge brought against Robert Kocharyan, the second president of Armenia, is based on the testimony given by anonymous witnesses and contains no specific statements, and the court ignored his immunity, advocates have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 26, Robert Kocharyan was charged in the case on the dispersal of the demonstration in March 2008 and the violent overthrow of the constitutional order. In the evening on July 27, the court arrested Robert Kocharyan.

The criminal prosecution and the arrest of Robert Kocharyan, the second president of Armenia, are unreasonable and contradict the law, his advocates stated.

According to advocate Ruben Saakyan, the charge is based on the testimony given by an unnamed person who learned from an unknown eyewitness about the events that took place ten years ago. "Article 105 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that unnamed sources cannot be used as evidence," the advocate noted.

Even if the charge is formulated with specific statements and the investigators provide evidence of the criminal conduct of Robert Kocharyan, the former president enjoys immunity, and the court pronounced the decision to arrest without considering that fact, emphasized Aram Orbelyan, the second advocate of Robert Kocharyan.

Victor Sogomonyan, the chief of the former president's office, believes that the case against Robert Kocharyan is conditioned by political and personal motives, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported.

"It is clear this is a personal and political persecution, a reprisal. It is a vendetta that does not fit into the logic of the legal field and has no justification," stated Victor Sogomonyan at a press conference organized by the Robert Kocharyan's defence on July 28.

Let us remind you that prior to his election as the Prime Minister of Armenia, opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan excluded political revenge and reprisals against his opponents after coming to power.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 29, 2018 at 05:39 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.