Supreme Court Overturns Decision to Drop Case Against Robert Kocharian and Others

The Supreme Court's anti-corruption chamber has overturned the decision made by Anna Danibekyan, judge of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, to dismiss the criminal case against the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharian, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and former Secretary General of the CSTO Yuri Khachaturov, former Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan, and former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan.

According to information published on the Supreme Court's website, on September 12, the anti-corruption chamber of the Supreme Court granted the appeal of former Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan, overturning the judicial act and sending the case back for a new trial in the Anti-Corruption Court.

It is noteworthy that Robert Kocharian, Yuri Khachaturov, Seyran Ohanyan, and Armen Gevorgyan were charged with “subverting the constitutional order” in connection with the events of March 1, 2008. Khachaturov and Ohanyan were accused of subverting the constitutional order, while Kocharian faced charges of subverting the constitutional order and receiving a particularly large bribe, and Gevorgyan was charged with assisting in the subversion of the constitutional order, receiving a particularly large bribe, and legalizing property obtained through criminal means.

After the Constitutional Court declared Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code (2003) unconstitutional on March 26, 2021, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Anna Danibekyan, dismissed the criminal case concerning the subversion of the constitutional order, stopping the criminal prosecution on the grounds of a lack of a criminal offense, even though prosecutors demanded reclassification of the act. The Supreme Court, relying on the Constitutional Court's decision, has decided to accept the prosecution's appeal.

It should be noted that the other portion of the case against Robert Kocharian has also been dropped due to expired statutes of limitations, and currently, only Armen Gevorgyan maintains the status of a defendant. Additionally, the powers of the presiding judge Anna Danibekyan have been terminated due to delays in Kocharian's case, which led to the dismissal of the case.