Advocates warn about consequences of Kocharyan's case for Armenia's image

The court has refused to release Robert Kocharyan, the second Armenian President, and extended his arrest by two months. His defence has decided to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), stating that the prosecution of the second President of Armenia will affect the image of the country.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 11, the Special Investigating Service (SIS) of Armenia put forward a petition to extend Mr Kocharyan's arrest, while his defence demanded to stop prosecuting him. On January 16, it became known that the investigator rejected the petition to stop Kocharyan's criminal case.

On January 18, the court in Yerevan granted the investigator's motion and extended Robert Kocharyan's arrest by two months, his advocate Ayk Alumyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Given the pressure on the courts, the defence could not be optimistic and is preparing to send a complaint to the ECtHR, Aram Orbelyan, another Kocharyan's advocate, has commented on the court decision.

Mr Orbelyan has also warned that Kocharyan's prosecution will negatively affect the image of Armenia. "The post-revolutionary Armenia will cease to be the Armenia of freedom and human rights; it will become the Armenia of dictatorship, which I really don't want. I want the justice to be administered not through international, but through domestic courts," the "News.am" quotes the advocate as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 19, 2019 at 06:23 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.