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The trial of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan entered its fourth day on Thursday, with the court hearing focusing on the defense lawyers’ demand to release him from custody.

Also asking presiding judge Davit Grigoryan to free the ex-president are Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan and his predecessor Arkadi Ghukasyan, who have offered personal guarantees to the court for Kocharyan’s release on bail. They are expected to attend today’s court hearing.

The reporters covering the trial boycotted the hearing after the speech of the ex-president’s attorney could not be heard due to technical issues.

The court announced a break to fix the issue.

The main hearings in the trial of Kocharyan and three other former senior officials Armen Gevorgyan, Seyran Ohanyan and Yuri Khachaturov, will start after the judge rules whether or not the ex-president should remain under arrest.

The ex-officials stand accused of overthrowing Armenia’s constitutional order during the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, but all of them deny any wrongdoing.

Kocharyan and Gevorgyan are also facing bribery charges. They deny these allegations as well.