YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Jailed former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the fifth time. The complaint argues that his objection regarding his arrest has not been examined immediately, Kocharyan’s lawyer Hayk Alumyan told reporters.

According to Alumyan, paragraph 4 of article 5 of the European Convention stipulates that any individual who has been incarcerated is entitled to object the arrest and a higher court is bound to immediately release them if the arrest took place unlawfully.

Alumyan says there are judgments where the ECHR has stipulated that the higher court must examine the complaint immediately.

The ECHR hasn’t yet responded to any of Kocharyan’s complaints.

Alumyan says they’ve filed a complaint to the Court of Cassation back in December of 2018.

“The court has not only not examined it, but it didn’t even launch proceedings”.

He argues that the delay can be considered a violation of the European Convention.

2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, who ruled the country from 1998 to 2008, spent two weeks in jail in summer of 2018, but was eventually freed. But on December 7, a higher court overruled the release and ordered him to be remanded into custody pending trial again.

At the time the court announced the verdict, Kocharyan turned himself in to authorities.

Kocharyan is charged with ‘overthrowing constitutional order’ during the 2008 post-election unrest, when clashes between security forces and protesters left 10 people dead, including two police officers, during his final days as president.

He vehemently denies wrongdoing.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan