NSS to make statement regarding ex-president Kocharyan’s family business
01.02.2019,
16:08
The National Security Service of Armenia will soon make a statement regarding a business that belongs to the family of ex-president Robert Kocharyan, the head of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan told reporters on Friday.
YEREVAN, February 1. /ARKA/. The National Security Service of Armenia will soon make a statement regarding a business that belongs to the family of ex-president Robert Kocharyan, the head of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan told reporters on Friday.
He said there is a criminal case initiated against the business belonging to the Kocharyan family. An investigation is underway and the results will soon be made public.
On December 7, 2018 Armenia’s Court of Appeals upheld the judgment of a lower court on remanding Robert Kocharyan. Kocharyan, who served two terms as president in 1998-2008 and is charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons in 2008 March.
Kocharyan had been detained by the Special Investigative Service (SIS) in 2018 summer for two months pending investigation. However, he was released from custody on June 13 after the Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the 2008 March 1 post-election violence.
The court based its decision on Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution, which says that during the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status. That ruling was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals “overstepped the bounds of its authority.”
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. -0-
He said there is a criminal case initiated against the business belonging to the Kocharyan family. An investigation is underway and the results will soon be made public.
On December 7, 2018 Armenia’s Court of Appeals upheld the judgment of a lower court on remanding Robert Kocharyan. Kocharyan, who served two terms as president in 1998-2008 and is charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons in 2008 March.
Kocharyan had been detained by the Special Investigative Service (SIS) in 2018 summer for two months pending investigation. However, he was released from custody on June 13 after the Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the 2008 March 1 post-election violence.
The court based its decision on Article 140 of the Armenian Constitution, which says that during the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status. That ruling was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals “overstepped the bounds of its authority.”
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. -0-
