Prosecutor: Ex-president Kocharyan to remain in custody
Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan will remain in custody as the Yerevan Criminal Court of Appeals ruled today to reject his attorneys’ bail plea.
“The court issued the ruling. The motions of Robert Kocharyan’s lawyers were completely rejected,” Prosecutor Vahagn Muradyan told reporters outside the courtroom.
He assessed the court ruling as normal, adding, “We believe there are no grounds to free Robert Kocharyan.”
Earlier on January 18, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction granted the motion filed by the Special Investigative Service to extend the ex-president’s pre-trial arrest for two months and denied his lawyers’ petition to release Kocharyan on bail.
The former president’s defense team appealed the ruling to the higher court.
Kocharyan has been placed in custody since December 7, 2018, pending trial. He is charged with overthrowing Armenia’s constitutional order during the March 1-2, 2008 post-election events in Yerevan, but the ex-president strongly denies any wrongdoing.