Robert Kocharyan to remain detained pending trial
11.04.2019,
14:22
The Court of Appeal of Armenia has already delivered the verdict on the motion filed by the lawyers of Robert Kocharyan, a former president of Armenia. Hayk Alumyan, one of Kocharyan’s lawyers, told journalists that the court declined the motion, and his client will remain in detention for another two months. He said he sees no reasons for keeping Kocharyan in pretrial detention.
YEREVAN, April 11. /ARKA/. The Court of Appeal of Armenia has already delivered the verdict on the motion filed by the lawyers of Robert Kocharyan, a former president of Armenia. Hayk Alumyan, one of Kocharyan’s lawyers, told journalists that the court declined the motion, and his client will remain in detention for another two months. He said he sees no reasons for keeping Kocharyan in pretrial detention.
Alumyan also said that Vardan Oskanian, who had been foreign minister under Robert Kocharyan’s rule, has been questioned over the March 1 case and he has repeated Kocharyan’s testimony. In his words, other former officials testified the same.
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—
Alumyan also said that Vardan Oskanian, who had been foreign minister under Robert Kocharyan’s rule, has been questioned over the March 1 case and he has repeated Kocharyan’s testimony. In his words, other former officials testified the same.
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—
