Friday, July 20 2018 17:12

ArmInfo. "I do not think that anyone, including Robert Kocharyan, has absolute immunity envisaged by the Constitution, if there are grounds for charging him, they will  be presented to him," the Prime Minister said at a press conference  today responding to a question about whether second president Robert  Kocharyan has absolute immunity envisaged by the Constitution, in  case he is charged under March 1 case.

"I think that there is misunderstanding on this issue. It is wrong to  consider that someone has full immunity before the law. Everything  else is under control of the investigative bodies, I can only note  that when I introduced the Head of the Special Investigative Service,  I explained very clearly what tasks this body faces. One of the main  tasks is to investigate the events of March 1. I am glad that we have  made serious progress on this issue and I hope that they will lead to  concrete results. I consider it very important that the investigation  be conducted with the participation of all people, involved in this  process, and also, with full observance of the law, "Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister stressed that it would be a shame for him if there  are political prisoners in Armenia. "I say this not as a Prime  Minister of Armenia, but as a prime minister who himself was  previously a political prisoner. Existence of political prisoners in  the country would be a shame for me, I assure you that we will not  have political prisoners in Armenia, but this does not mean that any  criminal case will be closed because of any person. If there are  sufficient legal grounds for bringing to criminal responsibility, any  person, whoever he/she is, will be held responsible, "concluded  Pashinyan.  To note, Robert Kocharyan was summoned for questioning to  the Special Investigation Service as a witness, but as the second  president is abroad, he promised to come for questioning on July 26.  The head of the Investigative Service Sasun Khachatryan assured that  if Kocharyan does not appear for an interrogation on July 26,  appropriate measures will be taken. In turn, the head of the office  of the second president Viktor Soghomonyan assured that Kocharyan is  personally interested in disclosing the events of March 1, so that  henceforth his name will not be speculated. "If all the processes  take place on legal rather than a political basis, Kocharyan has  nothing to fear of," Soghomonyan assured.

The former Defense Minister Mikael Harutyunyan is being charged under  the case. He is accused of trying to overthrow the constitutional  system by involving the army in political processes. Harutyunyan,  however, is abroad, an international search has been announced.  It  should be noted that the protest actions against the results of the  2008 presidential elections, in which the victory was won by Serzh  Sargsyan, resulted in riots and clashes of protesters with law  enforcement forces on March 1-2, resulting in the death of ten  people, over 200 injured. So far, those guilty for the crime have not  been punished.