Court of Appeal confirms Kocharyan's innocence

The Court of Appeal has rejected the complaint lodged by the Prosecutor's Office, which demanded to cancel the decision to stop the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharyan, the second President of Armenia, under the case of dispersing a rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Robert Kocharyan, a former President of Armenia, was charged within the case of dispersing a rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, during which 10 persons perished. On March 26, the Armenian Constitutional Court ruled that the charges against Robert Kocharyan and other figurants in the case regarding the overthrow of the power were unconstitutional. On April 6, a Yerevan court of general jurisdiction stopped the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharyan and other former officials under the article on overthrowing the constitutional power on the basis that there was no crime. In April, the Prosecutor's Office appealed against the decision.

Now, the Court of Appeal has rejected the Prosecutor's Office's appeal against the cancellation of the ruling of the first-instance court on the acquittal of Robert Kocharyan, advocate Ovannes Khudoyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. It is too early yet to say that the ruling of the first-instance court to stop the criminal case regarding the overthrow of the constitutional order remains in force, since the Prosecutor's Office can still appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal at the cassation instance, Mr Khudoyan has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 27, 2021 at 03:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.