Lawyer: Arrest of son of Armenia`s second president extended by 2 months

ArmInfo. The arrest of the son of Armenia's second president, Sedrak Kocharyan, has been extended by two months. This was announced by lawyer Hakob Kuregyan in a conversation with reporters outside the courthouse on October 23.

He noted that the defense did not expect any other decision at this stage, given the existing pressure on the country's judicial system. The lawyer stated that after receiving the court's decision, they intend to appeal the decision. "The court extended Sedrak Kocharyan's arrest for two months. We intend to appeal this decision. We were promised a court decision as soon as possible. We will try to achieve a result through appeal," the lawyer stated.

Kuregyan also described the progress of the court hearings for Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan, and his son, Sedrak Kocharyan. "During the hearings, the defense presents extensive arguments as to why the arrest should not be extended and, in general, why any preventive measure is inappropriate, but the court ignores them. Meanwhile, the case concerns an incident that occurred 20 years ago," the lawyer noted.

He noted that in other similar cases, preventive measures are usually lifted. "Experience shows that this does not hinder the further course of the proceedings." "Overall, the defense's position was that, given that reasonable suspicion has not been overcome, no preventive measure should be applied," Kuregyan concluded.

As a reminder, on August 25, National Security Council officers conducted searches in the apartment of Levon Kocharyan, an MP from the opposition Armenia faction and the son of second president Robert Kocharyan, and in companies affiliated with the Kocharyan family. Robert Kocharyan and Sedrak Kocharyan were then detained and taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee for questioning. Robert Kocharyan was charged that same day with large-scale money laundering, abuse of office (in connection with the ratification of government decisions - ed.), and accepting a large bribe. Nine other individuals were also charged in the case. On August 27, the Anti-Corruption Court ordered Kocharyan's arrest for two months.

It should be added that the political forces of Armenia's second president associate his arrest with an attempt to neutralize one of the main opposition figures amid the Armenian government's readiness to make further concessions to Azerbaijan.