Defense Requests Removal of Restriction on Yuri Khachaturov's Border Crossing

At a court session regarding the case of Robert Kocharyan and others, lawyer Mihran Poghosyan submitted a motion to restore the violated right of his client, Yuri Khachaturov, to freely move and to lift the restriction imposed on his border crossing.

Poghosyan recalled that Khachaturov had initially been subjected to the preventative measure of detention, but an alternative measure, bail, was applied. After paying the set amount of 5 million drams, he was released. According to the defense attorney, they had informed the investigating authority that Khachaturov was the Secretary General of the CSTO and, after the preventative measure was applied, he traveled to Russia. Nevertheless, following the decision of the CSTO Council to dismiss him from his position on November 2, he returned to Armenia without any obstacles.

The lawyer emphasized that at that time, de facto, there was no restriction on border crossing as a result of the applied measure. “Moreover, according to Armenian legislation, restrictions on border crossing can only be applied to individuals who are subject to a signature regarding their non-departure, and according to the precedent set by the Supreme Court, it cannot be applied in cases of bail,” he stated.

However, when on June 8, my client attempted to cross the Armenian-Georgian border for personal reasons, the border guard forces of the NSS did not allow him to exit Armenia.

Mihran Poghosyan noted that there is no document in the case from the investigating authority regarding the imposition of restrictions on border crossings. “On June 4, we applied to the Court of General Jurisdiction requesting the removal of the restriction, to which the court replied on June 6 by informing the head of the Criminal Investigation Department that if a restriction had been imposed, it is subject to removal,” he mentioned.

The attorney indicated that he had approached the NSS Director and the Chief of Police for clarification on August 9. The NSS investigative department responded, stating that the restriction on border crossing had been imposed at the initiative of the investigative service on June 6, which is the same day the court had indicated in writing that the restriction was subject to removal.

According to the letter from the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, Khachaturov's movements have been monitored because he is a defendant. “It may seem that the content of the issued letter is a result of negligence or ignorance of the law, however, the fact that the court had provided such permission on June 6, and that a restriction was imposed on the same day, leads to the conclusion that certain officials have abused their official powers. It is evident that an illegal restriction has been applied by certain officials, and they have exceeded their authority by imposing such a restriction without having such powers. Subsequently, several other officials, who have the court’s letter to remove it, did not implement the removal,” the defense attorney remarked.

The defense also requested to obtain copies of the justifications for the imposition of the restriction from the operators of the SEC system. It is worth noting that while submitting the motion, Mihran Poghosyan felt unwell, prompting a pause in the session that later resumed after some time.