Thursday, August 23 2018 18:42

ArmInfo.Within the next few days, the lawyers of the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharian will submit a complaint to the Court of Cassation. According to one of the lawyers of the retired president, Hayk Alumyan, on August 13 the  Court of Appeal decided to release Kocharyan from custody considering  only one of the 3 grounds they submitted.

Earlier, on August 1, lawyers of the second Armenian President Robert  Kocharian submitted to the Court of Appeal a complaint about the  decision of the first instance court on arrest. During the court  session, the appellate court was to consider two motions: the first  one - the cancellation of the decision of the first instance court  and the release of Robert Kocharyan, the second - the petition of the  lawyer Hayk Alumyan - to replace the arrest for release on bail.  However, the court freed Kocharian considering the immunity of the  ex-President of the country.

Recall that the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan was  imprisoned on July 28. The ex- president was charged under part 1 of  Article 300.1 of the RA Criminal Code - overthrowing the  constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia by preliminary  collusion with other persons, which provides for deprivation of  liberty from ten to fifteen years in the criminal case on dispersal  of protest actions on March 1-2, 2008 . On August 8, the Prosecutor  General's Office of Armenia rejected a petition signed by more than  40 deputies to change the measure of restraint of  Kocharyan,  explaining this by the fact that at this stage of the investigation  there are still grounds for arresting the retired president, and  choosing a non-custodial preventive measure is not capable of  guaranteeing the unimpeded progress of the investigation. 

Nevertheless, on August 13, the Armenian Appeal Court granted the  petition of the lawyers of ex-President Robert Kocharian and canceled  the decision of the first instance court referring to the  constitutional norm on the inviolability of the former heads of  state. The defense did not exclude the complete closure of the  criminal case on usurpation of state power in 2008. "The decision of  the Armenian Criminal Court of Appeal is unlawful, the Criminal Court  of Appeal went beyond its powers," the Special Prosecutor's Office  said in response to the decision, the Prosecutor General's Office of  Armenia filed a cassation appeal against the decision of the Court of  Appeal on August 20 the release of former Armenian President Robert  Kocharian from the arrest, which was accepted for consideration by  the Court of Cassation on August 21.  Meanwhile, according to the  head of the SSS, Sasun Khachatryan, if suddenly the cassation  instance decides, that Robert Kocharyan is not subject to criminal  prosecution taking into account his presidential status, which,  according to him, is absurd, since a person can not have absolute  immunity in connection with his office, the issue will be taken to  the next level - to the Constitutional Court. Robert Kocharian - Hayk  Alumyan, said that if the Court of Cassation of Armenia decides to  re-arrest the second president, they will appeal to the European  Court of Human Rights (ECHR).