Robert Kocharyan Expected to Face Court Again, But Will Not Be Imprisoned Even if Found Guilty – Lawyer

The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, is expected to stand before the court once again. This possibility has been granted by the Constitutional Court. However, if Kocharyan is found guilty, he will not be imprisoned due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for the alleged crime.

“Once again, an attempt will be made to start an illegal trial. This trial has already been illegal, hasn’t it? It has become clear that Robert Kocharyan has been accused for years based on an unconstitutional article and spent years in detention. Now, they are committing another illegality,” stated the former president's lawyer, Hayk Alumyants, in an interview with Azatutyun.

Kocharyan was acquitted by a first-instance court three years ago in the case of the bloody events of 2008; however, this decision has not yet come into force. The reason for the former president's acquittal was not that he was found innocent during the investigation, but rather a decision by the Constitutional Court that deemed the charge against him of overthrowing the constitutional order unconstitutional.

The Prosecutor's Office had already announced back then that the law did not allow for the reclassification of Kocharyan's charges. They appealed the acquittal verdict to the Court of Appeals and later to the Supreme Court, asking whether the acquittal in the case involving events that claimed the lives of 10 people was exemplary and whether they had the right to reclassify the charges.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court examined this for two years and concluded that indeed the law does not provide such an opportunity and that it has a problem with the Constitution. Four months ago, it appealed to the Constitutional Court.

After a four-month examination, the high court decided that on one hand, the law does not contradict the Constitution, but on the other hand, it also allows for the reclassification of charges.

The lawyer representing the unrepentant second president insists that the Constitutional Court has taken a wrong path and has exceeded its authority: “Instead of interpreting the Constitution, the Constitutional Court is interpreting the law, stating, ‘No, Supreme Court, you are misunderstanding the law, the law does not prohibit the prosecutors from changing the charges.’ This is clearly beyond their authority,” said Alumyants.

The Constitutional Court does not provide additional comments on its decision. What would happen if the high court recognized the disputed article as unconstitutional? Alumyants stated that this would mean that henceforth, in such situations, the Prosecutor’s Office would have the opportunity to reclassify the charges against defendants, but that high court's decision could not have retrospective force, and thus would not apply to the former president.

In order to again place Robert Kocharyan in the status of a defendant, the Constitutional Court has taken a different path, according to the lawyer. “This is outside of legal reasoning and is a political pursuit. From the very first day, we have stated that this is a case contrary to the elementary demands of law and legality, and this case has only one motive – political revenge,” declared Hayk Alumyants.

The lawyer also insists that the high court, which has exceeded its powers, has referred to international treaties, particularly the provision of the European Convention on the right to a fair trial, emphasizing the rights of victims and indicating that the Prosecutor’s Office should also protect their interests: “Clearly ignoring the fact that the 6th article of the European Convention does not at all extend to the prosecutors and does not apply to the victims’ side either.”

Prosecutors had spoken about victims’ rights years ago. Four days before Kocharyan's acquittal, then-Chief Prosecutor Arthur Davtyan had addressed Judge Anna Danibekyan, requesting to review the constitutionality of several laws related to criminal procedure. However, Danibekyan rejected this and went into the deliberative room to render a judgment.