Court Withdraws to Decide on Robert Kocharian's Preventive Measure

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, under the chairmanship of Judge Anna Danibekyan, has just withdrawn to the consultative room to make a decision regarding the urgent release of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, who is charged with undermining the constitutional order in the ‘March 1’ case.

The court ruling will be published on September 17 at 1:00 PM.

Today, Robert Kocharian's defense attorneys petitioned the first instance court to immediately cease criminal proceedings against Kocharian based on the Constitutional Court's decision dated September 4 and to lift the preventive measure against him.

Defense attorney Aram Orbelian, citing the Constitutional Court's ruling, pointed out that the High Court had recognized as unconstitutional a provision which does not include immunity among the circumstances under which criminal prosecution is excluded.

According to the lawyer, as long as the legislative gap remains unaddressed, the second president should be released immediately.

The prosecution and the victim's side objected to the submitted petition. According to the prosecuting attorneys, there are no grounds for the immediate release of Robert Kocharian based on the Constitutional Court's decision.

Earlier, we reported that on September 4, the Constitutional Court partially granted the application of the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian. The High Court noted that the provision regarding immunity is absent among the circumstances listed in the second part of Article 35 which exclude criminal prosecution, which is unconstitutional.

It is important to remember that Robert Kocharian is accused of undermining the constitutional order and receiving particularly large bribes in the March 1 case. Over the course of a year, the second president has been detained three times, with the latest detention occurring on June 25 by the decision of Appeal Court judge Armen Danielyan.