The arrest of Armenia`s second president has been extended by two months, according to a court ruling

ArmInfo. The Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia has extended the pretrial detention of second President Robert Kocharyan for two months. This was reported by the second President's office on Telegram.

It should be noted that the decision was announced two hours late. Speaking to journalists before the decision was announced, Robert Kocharyan's lawyer, Aram Orbelyan, said that the delay in the trial may be due to the judge still working on the verdict. "The hearing lasted 12 hours, and the defense presented extensive material proving that the arrest should not be extended," the lawyer stated.

Earlier, the court also extended the arrest of Sedrak Kocharyan, the son of Armenia's second president, for two months.

As a reminder, on August 25, National Security Service officers conducted searches of the apartment of Levon Kocharyan, a member of parliament from the opposition Armenia faction and the son of second president Robert Kocharyan, and of companies affiliated with the Kocharyan family. Robert Kocharyan and Sedrak Kocharyan were then detained and taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee for questioning. That same day, Robert Kocharyan was charged 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 pretrial detention for two months.

It should be added that members of the second Armenian president's political party attribute his arrest to an attempt to neutralize a key member of the opposition amid the Armenian government's readiness to make further concessions to Azerbaijan.