Andranik Kocharyan Loses Case Against ‘Hraparak’, Court Orders Him to Pay Compensation

In March 2019, Andranik Kocharyan (full name: Andranik Kocharyan), one of the most discredited members of the ‘My Step’ parliamentary faction, filed a lawsuit against the newspaper ‘Hraparak’ regarding an article published on February 12 titled ‘Who is Andranik Kocharyan Really?’ The article was authored by Hasmik Melkonyan, a prominent public figure and freelance journalist known in Gyumri.

This notorious figure believed that his new status as the chairman of a permanent parliamentary committee had erased his past, and he thought that any traces he had left behind in Gyumri had been forgotten. Consequently, the article by Hasmik Melkonyan angered him, prompting him to seek legal protection for his ‘damaged honor, dignity, and reputation.’ However, instead of directing his lawsuit against Hasmik Melkonyan, he aimed it at ‘Hraparak’, with a simplistic intent to prevent future articles against him.

After nearly two years of legal struggles and appeals, the general jurisdiction court of Yerevan and the appellate court ultimately rejected Andranik Kocharyan’s claim. The ruling from June 16, 2020, stated: ‘The claim of Andranik Grigori Kocharyan against the ‘Hraparak’ newspaper LLC, demanding the public apology, retraction of defamatory information, and compensation for insult and defamation, is denied.’ The explanatory part of the ruling clearly highlighted the inadequacy of the claim filed by the chairman of the parliamentary committee and his lawyer, indicating that it was an ill-conceived lawsuit.

Nonetheless, Kocharyan did not settle with that ruling and filed an appellate complaint, which was also rejected, followed by a cassation appeal. Eventually, the Civil Court of Appeals of the Republic of Armenia, presided over by Judge N. Karapetyan, decided on December 14, 2020, to reject the appeal presented by the representative of claimant Andranik Kocharyan, Albert Kandalayan, and to recover 40,000 AMD from Andranik Kocharyan in favor of ‘Hraparak’ LLC as reasonable attorney's fees.

Kocharyan faced further setbacks at the cassation court, leading to the ruling being forwarded to the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service. We have received a notification indicating that legal proceedings have commenced to recover the amount due from Kocharyan to the ‘Hraparak’ newspaper.