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"Those people who accuse us of protracting court hearings simply do not want to face the reality," Hayk Alumyan, a member of Armenia's second President Robert Kocharyan's defense team, told reporters after a court hearing on Tuesday.

The court hearing in the trial of the ex-president and three other former senior officials had to be postponed shortly after it started on Tuesday amid the absence of the interpreter.

Alumyan reiterated that his client is remanded in custody in a completely unjustified and unlawful manner.

The lawyer did not rule out that the reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel was interested in Robert Kocharyan's case and its legality during a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Germany are true.

According to Alumyan, he is not aware of the details, but does not rule out the possibility that such questions will be addressed to the Armenian authorities more and more often.

"It is becoming increasingly apparent to everyone that there is political persecution here," he said.