ArmInfo. Lawyers call for the release of the second president of Armenia Robert Kocharian from custody in connection with the situation with the coronavirus.
At a press conference on April 8, Kocharian's lawyer Aram Vardevanyan noted that the ex-president's release comes from the recommendations voiced by international structures to begin the process of reviewing preventive measures in connection with the current epidemiological situation. In addition, Kocharian in terms of COVID-19 is also at risk due to old age and health problems. Vardevanyan recalled that a request had previously been submitted to change Kocharian's preventive measure from arrest under personal guarantee, however, on March 13, Judge Anna Danibekyan submitted an opinion on his temporary incapacity for work. On the one hand, she has certain health problems, however, as Vardevanyan noted, the consideration of the application is not transferred to another judge.
According to him, according to the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council, in such cases, consideration of the application on the basis of chance should be transferred to another judge with the appropriate qualifications. Given that the defense side does not even have approximate information about how long Danibekyan will receive treatment, Vardevanyan urged to resolve this issue as soon as possible. According to him, for this purpose, the team of lawyers has already appealed to various authorities, including the office of the Ombudsman, where, as Vardevanyan noted, they acknowledged the problem. Robert Kocharian is being accused in the March 1, 2008 case. The charges were brought under Article 300.1 of the RA Criminal Code (Overthrow of the Constitutional System).