Your trusted source

Viktor Soghomonyan, the head of second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s office, again   strongly condemned the “political persecution” of the ex-president, stressing the “entire responsibility lies with the authorities.”

“If this issue fails to be resolved quickly, a big stamp by Nikol Pashinyan's signature is put on the fact that the second president of Armenia is a political prisoner,” he said during a program aired on the local Fifth Channel.

Soghomonyan expressed hope that political figures and human rights activists understand that this is not the case to turn a blind eye to, arguing they cannot make any comments since the case is under trial.

Citing the wiretapped telephone conversation between the two top Armenian security officials in 2018, he stated it revealed how courts make rulings in Armenia.

“Now they may have told the judge to do something, like to undergo a surgery, to protract the case, otherwise ‘how are you going to reject Vazgen Manukyan, Khorsrov Harutyunyan and Karen Karapetyan’,” he stated.

Armenia’s former Prime Ministers Vazgen Manukyan, Khorsrov Harutyunyan and Karen Karapetyan, as well as former Artsakh Prime Minister Anushavan Danielyan have offered personal guarantees for the release of Robert Kocharyan.

The motion was filed to the court on March 16, one day before the scheduled court hearing in the case. However, the defense lawyers were told later in the day that judge Anna Danibekyan could not hold a court hearing due to health problems. Later it became known that the judge had submitted a sick leave medical certificate back on March 13 and had undergone a surgery.

A month after the motion was filed, no court hearing has been scheduled to hear it, with the date of Danibekyan’s return to work remaining unknown. However, the motion must have been heard immediately, as it concerns the change of a preventive measure.

Hovannes Khudoyan, one of Kocharyan's lawyers, addressed a number of questions about Danibekyan's actions to the chief of staff of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, after receiving a response, he does not rule out the possibility of filing a crime report.

According to some reports that emerged on Monday, the judge has recused herself from the case, however the defense lawyers of the former president claim they have not been informed on such a move.