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The Yerevan Court of Appeals, presided over by judge Armen Danielyan, rejected the motion of second President Robert Kocharyan’s legal team during Friday’s hearing in the trial of the ex-president and three other former senior officials prosecuted in connection with the March 2008 post-election events. 

At the previous hearing on Thursday, Kocharyan’s lawyer Hayk Alumyan protested against the fact that Danielyan was assigned to deal with two different appeals, demanding that the judge recuse himself from the case.

The lawyers of Seyran Ohanyan, Yuri Khachaturov and Mihran Poghosyan – the three other officials standing trial as part of the criminal case – had also joined the defense motion, which was turned down by the judge too.

The prosecutors had objected to that demand.

Meanwhile, two rival groups of supporters and critics of Kocharyan continued today protests outside the court building.