The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction denied the appeal by the legal defense team of Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan to terminate criminal proceedings against him on the basis of presidential immunity.
As reported earlier, the Criminal Court of Appeal denied the appeal by Kocharyan’s attorneys, and of the extension of his custody period for two more months, News.am recalls.
Kocharyan is charged with toppling constitutional order in collusion with other persons in 2008 March. He was detained on July 26, 2018 for two months in pre-trial detention pending investigation. However, he was released from custody after the Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be prosecuted for the 2008 March 1 post-election violence. That ruling was denounced by the Special Investigative Service, which described it as illegal, saying that the Court of Appeals "overstepped the bounds of its authority." In December, he was arrested again. On March 15, Kocharyan's custody was extended for another 2 months.
