Ex-President Kocharyan to remain under arrest

The Yerevan appellate court on Thursday rejected the appeal of second President Robert Kocharyan’s defense team against the ruling of a lower court to extend his arrest, with the former president set to remain in pre-trial custody, one of his lawyers Hayk Alumyan told reporters.

According to the attorney, the court ignored all possible norms and ruled to keep Kocharyan under arrest.

“Mr. Kocharyan reacted to the court decision more calmly than his attorneys,” he said, stressing they will appeal the ruling after receiving it. 

Alumyan says that the court has also rejected the defense motion to release him on bail.

Earlier on 15 March, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction ruled to extend the former president’s pre-trial arrest for another two months sought by the Special Investigative Service, denying the defense motion to allow his release on bail.

Also, the court dismissed the bribery charges against Kocharyan on grounds of insufficient evidence.

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.