ECHR Has Not Examined Any Case Regarding the Charges Against President Kocharian: Vahe Grigoryan

Lawyer Vahe Grigoryan wrote on his Facebook page: "Dear friends, this morning I learned that a number of media outlets have started spreading news that the ECHR allegedly made a decision in 2012 regarding the rejection of President Ter-Petrosyan's complaint in the March 1 case. Subsequently, the text’s incomprehensible and manipulative narrative concluded that the ECHR has already examined a complaint regarding key issues related to the events of March 1, 2008, and determined that 'the thesis put forward by the current authorities, namely that the government at that time, particularly President Robert Kocharian, violated constitutional order, is unfounded.' This means that the charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order brought against Robert Kocharian under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government are incompatible with the ECHR's 2012 decision. This, in turn, means that..."

“I should note that neither the ECHR nor any Armenian domestic court has, to date, examined any case related to the charges brought against President Kocharian, which would confirm or deny the allegations made against him. Furthermore, no ruling or decision has been made by the ECHR to refute claims that might provide legal grounds or factual circumstances to justify the actions attributed to President Kocharian, Generals Khachaturov and Ohanian, and Mr. Gevorgian. Only legal professionals will understand the level of academic title in the field of law required for someone to believe that the ECHR could confirm or deny anyone's guilt in a criminal law sense through any admissibility decision.”

The cited ECHR decision (the Armenian translation is in the comments) concerns entirely different issues and is not a decision on the essence of the complaint, but rather on its admissibility. This ruling can be quite informative for any reader. As for the ECHR's examination of some questions regarding the declaration of a state of emergency by President Kocharian on March 1, 2008, such a complaint is still awaiting its decision. Similarly, the complaint of the first president Ter-Petrosyan has not been rejected but has been partially accepted and is currently waiting for a decision again. Due to time constraints, I am unable to respond more frequently and in detail to such propagandistic publications in the style of Lewis Carroll's poems. Instead, trusting my readers' high media and legal literacy, I will place relevant materials below for journalists or anyone interested to familiarize themselves with.”

“P.S. Dear journalists, I understand that every such foolish publication can generate great interest among readers and, naturally, necessitate responses from informed specialists to clarify the matter. With the deepest respect for your profession and service, I am unable to provide individual clarifications to every media outlet regarding such publications solely due to time constraints. I am making this clarification seeing your numerous messages and calls, to which responding would necessarily take me away from my equally important daily work. I am sure you are aware of the subject of my main employment. Please be understanding. I have seen all your messages and questions, and in this publication, I have attempted to cover the substantive main parts of them. Thank you for your interest."