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The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction of Shengavit District on Thursday started the first hearing in the criminal case involving Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, ex-CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov and former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan.

The case has been assigned to judge Anna Danibekyan.

The former president, his defense team and his son Levon Kocharyan are in the courtroom.

Ohanyan, Khachaturov and Gevorgyan are also in attendance of the hearing.

The judge allowed videotaping of the hearing given the absence of the trial participants’ objections.

According to the indictment, Kocharyan is charged with overthrowing Armenia’s constitutional order during the March 1-2, 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, abusing his powers and taking a bribe of large amount during his tenure from 1998 to 2008.

Seyran Ohanyan and Yuri Khachaturov, who served as Armenia’s deputy defense minister in 2008, have also been charged with an overthrow of the constitutional order during the post-election events.

Meanwhile, Armen Gevorgyan is charged with assistance to an overthrow of the constitutional order, corruption and money laundering. The former president is currently remanded in pre-trial custody. Ohanyan and Gevorgyan have been released on a signature bond, while Yuri Khachaturov has been set free on bail.