Yerevan court rules to extend Kocharyan’s arrest for another two months

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided by judge Armen Bektashyan, issued Friday a ruling on extension of second President Robert Kocharyan’s pre-trial arrest sought by the Special Investigative Service (SIS).

The court granted the SIS motion to extend the former president’s arrest for another two months and denied his attorneys’ petition to free him on bail, one of Kocharyan’s lawyers, Aram Orbelyan told reporters outside the courtroom.

He promised to share more details of the court ruling after receiving it, but said the court only found risky Kocharyan’s possible influence on the criminal case. 

“The court found that there are no substantial suspicion of bribery,” he added.

Earlier in January, the Yerevan court approved the prosecutor’s motion to extend arrest imposed on Kocharyan as a pre-trial measure of restraint for two months.

The ex-president has been placed in custody since December 7, 2018, pending trial. He is charged with overthrowing Armenia’s constitutional order during the March 1-2, 2008 post-election events in Yerevan, but strongly denies any wrongdoing.