| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
| Court of Appeal confirms Kocharian's innocence | |
| 2021-11-27 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited [KavkazUzel] The court rejected the appeal of the prosecutor's office, which demanded to cancel the decision to terminate the criminal prosecution of the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharian in the case of dispersing a rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008.
On March 26, the Armenian Constitutional Court found the accusation of Robert Kocharian and other defendants in the case regarding the overthrow of the government unconstitutional. On April 6, the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court terminated the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharian and other former officials under the article on overthrowing the constitutional order on the basis of the absence of a crime. In April, the prosecutor's office appealed the decision. Robert Kocharian is also accused of money laundering, fraud and receiving a large bribe. On May 29, 2020, the Administrative Court of Armenia granted the defense's petition that the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, remain in the medical center until the end of the coronavirus pandemic, and in June 2020 Kocharian was released on bail. Back in August 2020, the prosecution announced  a deliberate delay in the process. The appellate court rejected the appeal of the prosecutor's office on the cancellation of the decision of the court of first instance on the acquittal of Robert Kocharian, Hovhannes Khudoyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "It is too early to say that the decision of the court of first instance to terminate the criminal case regarding the overthrow of the constitutional order remains in force, since the prosecutor's office can appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal in the cassation instance," he noted. "The judicial act has not yet entered into force," Khudoyan said. The lawyer added that the court today also considered the defense's petition to change the preventive measure against Robert Kocharian. The defense demanded to reduce the amount of the bail or cancel the bail altogether, but the court rejected this request, he said. | |
| Posted by:badanov |