Armenian Prosecutor General's Office on Reopened March 1 Case

The Armenian Prosecutor General's Office has announced that on September 12, 2024, the Anti-Corruption Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued a decision regarding criminal case No. ED/0253/01/19, which involves charges against Robert Kocharyan, Seyran Ohanyan, and others. The decision annulled the April 6, 2021 ruling of the Yerevan City Court of General Jurisdiction that had terminated the criminal prosecution against Robert Kocharyan, Seyran Ohanyan, Armen Gevorgyan, and Yuri Khachaturov based on Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code, and referred the case to the Anti-Corruption Court for new examination.

Among other findings, the Court of Cassation noted that under the current conditions, the decision of the First Instance Court to terminate the criminal prosecution against Robert Kocharyan, Seyran Ohanyan, Armen Gevorgyan, and Yuri Khachaturov was unlawful. It stated that after the Constitutional Court declared Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional and invalid, the prosecutor was competent to change the legal assessment of the acts attributed to the aforementioned individuals before the court left for the consulting room.

In response to media inquiries, it was communicated that given the presence of elements of criminal acts under other articles of the Criminal Code in the actions attributed to Robert Kocharyan and others, the prosecutor will soon present the appropriate decision to the Anti-Corruption Court regarding the aforementioned criminal case.