Court of Appeal confirms Kocharyan's innocence

| News, Armenia, Azerbaijan

The court rejected the prosecutor's office appeal, which demanded the cancelation of the decision to terminate the criminal prosecution of the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan in the case of dispersing a rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008.

Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is charged in the case of dispersing a rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, during which 10 people were killed. The former chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Yuri Khachaturov, the former head of the Ministry of Defence Seyran Ohanyan and the former head of the presidential administration and Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan are also involved in this case. On March 26, the Armenian Constitutional Court ruled that the charges against Robert Kocharyan and other defendants in the case were unconstitutional. On April 6, the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court terminated the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharyan and other former officials under the article on overthrowing the constitutional order based on the absence of a crime. In April, the prosecutor's office appealed the decision.

Robert Kocharyan is also accused of money laundering, fraud, and receiving a large bribe. On May 29, 2020, the Administrative Court of Armenia granted the defence's petition that Robert Kocharyan remain in the medical centre until the end of the coronavirus pandemic, and in June 2020 Kocharyan was released on bail. Back in August 2020, the prosecution announced that the process was deliberately delayed.

The appellate court rejected the appeal of the prosecutor's office on the cancellation of the decision of the court of the first instance on the acquittal of Robert Kocharyan, lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan told. It is too early to say that the court’s first decision to terminate the criminal case remains in force since the prosecutor's office can appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal in the cassation instance, he said.

"The judicial act has not yet entered into force," Khudoyan said.

The lawyer added that the court also considered the defence's petition to change the preventive measure against Robert Kocharyan. The defence demanded that the bail amount be reduced or cancel the bail altogether, but the court rejected this request, he said.

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