Developing story: Ex-President Kocharyan expected in Yerevan court at 11:00

YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court adjourned a hearing over the prosecutor’s motion to issue an arrest warrant and remand into custody former President Robert Kocharyan on July 26. The hearing is expected to take place today at 11:00 in the Court of General Jurisdiction of Shengavit district, Yerevan.

Kocharyan’s attorney Ruben Sahakyan said that his client must be properly notified about the hearing until it begins.

“Robert Kocharyan will not avoid responsibility. He will appear at court and prove it. If he were to avoid, he wouldn’t return to Armenia,” Sahakyan said.

Earlier criminal charges were pressed against Kocharyan over the March 1 case, and prosecutors requested a court to issue an arrest warrant.

Kocharyan is charged with paragraph 1 of Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code (breaching Constitutional order).

The March 1 case is an ongoing investigation into the deadly 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. Kocharyan was the outgoing president at the time, as Serzh Sargsyan was named winner of the presidential election. Mass protests erupted in Yerevan, which led to fatal clashes between security forces and demonstrators.

This is a developing story.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan