A court hearing in the case of the second president of the Republic has begun at Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court.

Arminfo.  A court hearing in the case of the Republic’s second president, Robert Kocharyan, is being held at Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court on September 18.

The hearing in the case concerning the events of March 1, 2008, is being presided over by Judge Sarkis Petrosyan. Kocharyan’s supporters have gathered outside the Anti-Corruption Court, holding a rally in support of Armenia’s second president. In this connection, fairly substantial police forces were deployed to the court. Kocharyan was greeted with applause in the courtroom.

Supporters of Armenia’s second president believe that the case against him is fabricated and politically motivated. Speaking to journalists, Armenian parliament member from the opposition “Armenia” faction Gegham Manukyan noted that, in his opinion, Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office commits illegal actions every day. "And every day the Prosecutor General’s Office spreads lies. All the statements made by this agency, for example, regarding the case of the supporters and leader of the opposition movement "Sacred Struggle," have been completely refuted. Law enforcement officials are simply disgracing themselves. These criminal cases have nothing to do with legal proceedings. It is all politics. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is today a lawyer, a sociologist, an economist, and on top of all that, he has decided to take up legal acts as well," the opposition politician noted.

However, as Manukyan pointed out, one day Pashinyan will no longer be in power, and the law enforcement officials who carry out his orders will stand trial.

It should be noted that during the hearing, the defense petitioned for the termination of the prosecution against former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, who is involved in the case. However, the judge rejected the petition.

Let us recall that Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office accuses Robert Kocharyan of involvement in the events of March 1, 2008 (mass riots and clashes between protesters and police - ed.). In addition to Robert Kocharyan, former Defense Minister Seyran Oganian, former CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov and former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan are also standing trial as defendants. Earlier, the Constitutional Court recognized as unconstitutional the provision of the Criminal Code under which the defendants were prosecuted.   The first two judicial instances terminated the criminal prosecution against the defendants, while the Court of Cassation sent the case to the Anti-Corruption Court for a retrial, arguing that the provisions of the Criminal Code had been interpreted incorrectly and that, in view of the large number of victims, those responsible should be punished.

We would add that on August 25, Robert Kocharyan was charged with particularly large-scale money laundering, abuse of official position and receiving a large bribe. Charges were brought against 9 more persons as part of the case. On August 27, Kocharyan was remanded in custody for two months by a decision of the Anti-Corruption Court. At the same time, the political force of Armenia’s second president links his arrest to an attempt to neutralize one of the opposition’s main representatives amid the Armenian authorities’ readiness to make new concessions to Azerbaijan.