Armenia's Constitutional Court releasing Kocharyan

After a prolonged consideration of Armenia's former president, one of the leaders of the Karabakh clan and instigator of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Robert Kocharyan’s appeal against his arrest and prosecution on coup charges, the country's Constitutional Court ruled that it is possible to criminally prosecute him. The ruling was announced by the chairman of the Court Hrayr Tovmasyan.

But at the same time, the court ruled that Kocharyan's arrest was unconstitutional.

Kocharyan's petitions asked the court to declare unconstitutional two articles of the Code of Procedural Justice, part 2 of Article 135 (defamation in public speaking) and Article 35 (preparation for crime), which law-enforcement authorities used to arrest him.

Kocharyan's lawyers argue that the Armenian Constitution gives their client immunity from prosecution for the crackdown on the opposition after the contested 2008 presidential election.

Tovmasyan stressed that the decision of the Constitutional Court shall be final and shall enter into force from the moment of its promulgation.

Kocharyan's lawyer Aram Vardevanyan said that if Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Code is unconstitutional, this means Kocharyan's constitutional right to personal freedom has been violated.

Director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute Alexander Markarov, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that despite it was ruled that the article under which Robert Kocharian was prosecuted was unconstitutional, the investigation into the March 1, 2008 events will be undoubtedly continued.

"This is one of the fundamental questions for Nikol Pashinyan's team who came to power. The fact that the investigation will continue along any path is beyond doubt, because the current government emphasizes that the perpetrators of the March 1, 2008 events have not yet been named. But due to today's decision of the Constitutional Court it's unclear whether there will be the court's verdict in relation to persons who are currently under investigation," he said.

Thanks to this decision, Kocharian’s defense strengthened its position and weakened the prosecution’s position. "Kocharyan's lawyers will now emphasize that the persecution was political from the very beginning. Therefore, the confrontation of two points of view will continue: that the investigation against Kocharyan is a purely legal process within the framework of legal norms, and that, alternatively, this process is rather political, than a criminal one," Alexander Markarov added.

Ex-mayor of Yerevan Vahagn Khachatryan earlier noted that Robert Kocharyan is trying to present the criminal prosecution as a political one. "Kocharyan understands well that he is responsible for the March 1, 2008 events in the first place. He wants to make himself look persecuted for political beliefs. Meanwhile, this criminal case has no political motive. Kocharyan knew what was happening in Yerevan in those days, and if not himself, then he gave orders to shoot people," he said.

"Apparently, he counts on his money, although Kocharyan’s personality is not perceived positively either in the political environment or among the population," Vahagn Khachatryan added.