YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Prosecutor Karen Bisharyan has filed a second complaint to the Court of Appeals today during an ongoing hearing of the suspended March 1 case involving ex-president Robert Kocharyan and other former officials.

The prosecutor’s complaint relates to a lower court’s decision on suspending the trial and forwarding the case to the Constitutional Court for validation in terms of constitutionality.

Bisharyan, the prosecutor in the case, told the court today that the charges pressed against the ex-president are “undoubtedly” in conformity with the constitution.  Kocharyan is charged with “overthrowing constitutional order” during the 2008 deadly post-election unrest in Yerevan.

The prosecutor also argues that the trial cannot be suspended for forwarding the case to the Constitutional Court.

He said the lower court has obviously made a “significant violation of the criminal procedural law”.

The prosecution requested the court to overrule the earlier decision.

The Constitutional Court of Armenia had earlier said it has delayed the deadline for the case’s examination until July 9.

The March 1 events colloquially refer to the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, when clashes between security forces and protesters left 10 people, including two security officers dead. The unrest spanned from late February until late March. The events are known simply as March First because it was on this day when police troops violently dispersed protesters in downtown Yerevan.

The protests were led by First President of Armenia Levon-Ter Petrosyan, who according to official results of the election lost to Serzh Sargsyan. Ter-Petrosyan's supporters believed the election was rigged.

Robert Kocharyan was the outgoing president at the time.

Kocharyan and several other former officials are currently under criminal investigation over this case.

Other indicted officials include then-top military officials.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan