Armenian court to announce Kocharyan ruling on September 17
12.09.2019,
18:50
A court in the Armenian capital Yerevan, chaired by Judge Anna Danibekyan, said today the ruling whether ex-president Robert Kocharyan must be released from custody or not pending his trial will be announced on September 17.
YEREVAN, September 12. /ARKA/. A court in the Armenian capital Yerevan, chaired by Judge Anna Danibekyan, said today the ruling whether ex-president Robert Kocharyan must be released from custody or not pending his trial will be announced on September 17.
On September 4 Armenia's Constitutional Court ruled that Kocharyan's arrest was unconstitutional. Kocharyan's petitions had asked the court to declare unconstitutional two articles of the Code of Procedural Justice, part 2 of Article 135 (defamation in public speaking) and Article 35 (preparation for crime), which law-enforcement authorities used to arrest him.
Kocharyan's lawyers argue that the Armenian Constitution gives their client immunity from prosecution for the crackdown on the opposition after the contested 2008 presidential election.
“We submitted one petition, which was based on the ruling of the Constitutional Court,” Hayk Alumyan, a Kocharyan’s lawyer, told reporters today after the court session.
Earlier today, another defense lawyer for Kocharyan, Aram Orbelyan, demanded immediate release of the ex-president. Prosecutor Gevorg Baghdasaryan retaliated that the Constitutional Court's ruling does not provide for grounds to release Kocharyan.
According to Hayk Alumyan, the defense has facts which support the impartiality of Judge Anna Danibekyan. However, the defense cannot demand that she recuse herself since it will prevent the hearing of the case. Alumyan said that he will demand her recusal at the next stage of the trial.
The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, angering the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.
The same charge is brought against Yuri Khachaturov, who had been the chief of the Yerevan garrison at the time of the bloody events. Khachaturov was detained by then released on a 5 million dram bail. Also former defense minister Mikael Harutyunyan is wanted by the law-enforcement authorities as a defendant in the case. He is accused of illegally using the Armenian armed forces against opposition supporters who demonstrated in Yerevan in the wake of the disputed presidential election held in February 2008. -0—
On September 4 Armenia's Constitutional Court ruled that Kocharyan's arrest was unconstitutional. Kocharyan's petitions had asked the court to declare unconstitutional two articles of the Code of Procedural Justice, part 2 of Article 135 (defamation in public speaking) and Article 35 (preparation for crime), which law-enforcement authorities used to arrest him.
Kocharyan's lawyers argue that the Armenian Constitution gives their client immunity from prosecution for the crackdown on the opposition after the contested 2008 presidential election.
“We submitted one petition, which was based on the ruling of the Constitutional Court,” Hayk Alumyan, a Kocharyan’s lawyer, told reporters today after the court session.
Earlier today, another defense lawyer for Kocharyan, Aram Orbelyan, demanded immediate release of the ex-president. Prosecutor Gevorg Baghdasaryan retaliated that the Constitutional Court's ruling does not provide for grounds to release Kocharyan.
According to Hayk Alumyan, the defense has facts which support the impartiality of Judge Anna Danibekyan. However, the defense cannot demand that she recuse herself since it will prevent the hearing of the case. Alumyan said that he will demand her recusal at the next stage of the trial.
The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, angering the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured.
The same charge is brought against Yuri Khachaturov, who had been the chief of the Yerevan garrison at the time of the bloody events. Khachaturov was detained by then released on a 5 million dram bail. Also former defense minister Mikael Harutyunyan is wanted by the law-enforcement authorities as a defendant in the case. He is accused of illegally using the Armenian armed forces against opposition supporters who demonstrated in Yerevan in the wake of the disputed presidential election held in February 2008. -0—
