ArmInfo. The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, responded to the decision of the Yerevan Civil Court refusing to satisfy the Kocharian's defense against Nikol Pashinyan's claim of honor and dignity, demanding a public apology.
"Against the background of recent processes in the republic, such a court decision was quite expected. Taking into account the developments in the country, the independence of the judiciary was in doubt, and the court's verdicts are made on the basis of calls from certain officials," at the "Yerevan Center" Kocharyan
Earlier, lawyer Hayk Alumian, representing the interests of Robert Kocharyan, who is accused of overthrowing the constitutional order in 2008, filed a lawsuit against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, accusing him of public libel.
Hayk Alumyan told ArmInfo correspondent that the lawsuit was based on Nikol Pashinyan's public statements made during his visit to France and concerning Robert Kocharyan. The defense of the second President, in particular, considers slander the following excerpt from the conversation of the Armenian Prime Minister: "As for the wording for the release of Robert Kocharyan, immunity. What does it mean to have immunity; can one kill people and to have immunity?".
That is, as stated the lawyer, the Prime Minister thus claims that Robert Kocharyan is the organizer of the killings and now refers to immunity, while such an accusation was not brought against the 2nd president. "There is no such court decision, which has entered into legal force, which Kocharyan found guilty of committing this crime," the lawyer said. Therefore, as Hayk Alumian explained, Robert Kocharyan's lawyers insist on public apologies for the statements of Nikol Pashinyan. There are no claims for compensation, said the representative of the interests of the retired president. As a result, on December 14, having considered the appeal of the representative of Kocharyan's interests, the court dismissed the complaint. The appeals instance noted that everyone has the right to freely express his opinion.