13 August 2018, 21:08
Kocharyan released from custody
The Court of Appeal (CoA) has cancelled the decision to place Robert Kocharyan behind bars, referring to his inviolability as the former president of Armenia. However, the accusations of dispersing the oppositionist rally have not been dropped from him, said his advocate.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Robert Kocharyan was accused of overthrowing the constitutional order in connection with the dispersal of protest actions in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008. He was arrested on July 27 this year. On August 7, more than 60 MPs of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh asked to release Kocharyan from custody, but the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Armenia rejected the request.
In 2008, in skirmishes with the police in Yerevan, 10 people perished and over 250 others were injured. Then, Kocharyan introduced a 20-day state of emergency, banning demonstrations and publishing messages from unofficial sources in mass media.
Today, the CoA has granted the defence's motion and ruled to release Kocharyan from custody, his advocate Ruben Sahakyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
The CoA has referred to the right of the former head of state to immunity, but Robert Kocharyan still remains in the status of the defendant, Mr Sahakyan has stated, adding that further defence's actions will depend on those of the investigators.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 13, 2018 at 04:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Armine Martirosyan Source: CK correspondent
