Court Ruling on Kocharian's Preventive Measure is Unfounded and Unjustified, Defense Team

The defense team of Robert Kocharian, the second President of Armenia, has released a statement regarding the decision to extend his detention for another two months. The statement notes that:

"The court has acknowledged that there is no reasonable suspicion in the bribery case against Kocharian and confirms that he was free from August 13 to December 7, 2018, and did not evade investigation, which indicates that the basis for his detention is absent.

After the publication of the court ruling, the defense team was provided with the court's decision, and a preliminary examination of the justifications within it reveals that the court did not consider several arguments presented by the defense team.

Specifically, the court did not address the arguments regarding the legality of the state of emergency decree signed by the president, which was in accordance with Armenian legislation and derived from the president's authority, thus no illegal actions were committed.

The court also did not consider the institution of presidential immunity, despite the defense presenting extensive legal justifications demonstrating that the president is inviolable and that denying this status at this stage constitutes a severe violation of the presumption of innocence.

Robert Kocharian could not be charged under Article 300.1 of the Armenian Penal Code for the simple reason that the crime as stipulated in this article did not exist in 2008, meaning that the act, even if it had occurred during that period, could not be deemed a crime—this is an obvious circumstance excluding the application of preventive measures.

The defense team submitted evidence regarding similar cases, demonstrating that this article has not been applied to other individuals in the past; however, it is being applied to Robert Kocharian, indicating clear bias and discrimination against him.

Extensive legal justifications were also presented arguing that the Armed Forces could have been deployed in accordance with the laws in effect in 2008, to which the prosecutors and investigator did not object; however, the court again did not address this justification.

Overall, the rationale in the court ruling is nearly absent; the court simply paraphrased the titles of the materials presented by the investigator and stated that these confirm the reasonable suspicion that Robert Kocharian may have committed the act attributed to him.

In addition to the aforementioned justifications, the defense pointed out that there is no indication from any person testifying against Robert Kocharian; on the contrary, the materials of the criminal case confirm the defense’s position, hence not only is there no indication of interference with the examination of the case but also the logic of attempting to obstruct it.

At the same time, the investigator and prosecutors refused to disclose to the court against whom and what specific influence could create obstacles for the examination of the case, nor have they presented any evidence directed against Robert Kocharian.

The court also did not provide reasons for what specific circumstances justified the existence of grounds for obstruction.

The defense team considers the court ruling unfounded and unjustified and intends to file a cassation appeal in a timely manner.