ArmInfo.The comments of the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly on the cases investigated in Armenia are a manifestation of political rhetoric. This is stated in the answer of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia to the request of the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanoto the Prosecutor General Artak Davtyan.
According to the RA Prosecutor General's Office, on the eve of E. Sharmazanov, he expressed bewilderment at the intention of the Prosecutor General's Office to appeal against the decision of the Armenian Appeals Court to release Robert Kocharyan,at the same time "forgetting" about "releasing some members of the terrorist group" by the court, who, during the capture of the regiment of the patrol and guard service in 2016, killed three policemen. At the same time, the vice speaker of the National Assembly reminds that Davtyan himself from the rostrum of the parliament made statements about the strict punishment of the persons who carried out these murders.
"All the statements of the Prosecutor General from the rostrum of the National Assembly, including the mentioned group, were public. They can be read on the Internet, they are available to everyone. The conviction that the persons who killed policemen during the capture of the PPS regiment must suffer a severe punishment, which is also the duty of the prosecutor's office, remains unshakable and unchanged. However, this does not and can not have any direct relationship with the process of replacing the arrest of defendants in the case of the seizure of the PPS by a measure of restraint not related to the deprivation of liberty, especially with the criminal prosecution against Robert Kocharyan, by choosing preventive measures in his respect for the following reasons:
Firstly: Mr. Sharmazanov deliberately or erroneously ignores the fact that the measure of restraint, chosen against the persons accused of killing policemen, has not changed, and they continue to remain under arrest.
Secondly: the application of a preventive measure against the accused is not a penalty. It is used in the process of reviewing the case to ensure proper conduct, to guarantee the normal course of an objective investigation, to neutralize reasonable factors.
Therefore, the replacement of arrest by a preventive measure that is not related to deprivation of liberty can not be commented on under any circumstances as a manifestation of the termination of criminal prosecution, release from criminal liability or its justification, regardless of whether it is about Robert Kocharyan, whose status accused, members of the group accused of seizing the regiment of the PPS or another person. This can be seen by studying the relevant legal norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Armenia.
Thirdly: Prosecutors defending the offense in the above-mentioned criminal case did not object to the petitions to replace the preventive measure in the form of arrest with alternative preventive measures solely because, based on new evidence, at this stage of the investigation they were convinced that , that the grounds for the continuation of the application of the preventive measure in the form of arrest have disappeared with respect to concrete accused, the grounds for obstructing the investigation have substantially decreased.
In addition, it should be noted that we are dealing with extremely different, incompatible situations. Decisions to change preventive measures against persons in the case of the capture of the PPS regiment were taken during the trial, after serving a 2-year term in prison, when the possibilities for obstructing the investigation became less. But the decision of the Court of Appeal regarding the change of the preventive measure against Robert Kocharyan was made at the most active stage of the preliminary investigation, when extensive investigative and other procedural, operational and reconnaissance activities were carried out. And in this case, the possibility of impeding the investigation is quite large, "the Prosecutor General's Office mentioned in its response.