Kocharyan’s lawyer blasts SIS for 'stupid' charges delaying court hearings
"There is one subject in Armenia, due to which the court hearings are delayed. It is the Special Investigation Service (SIS) which has brought stupid charges to court,” Hovhannes Khudoyan, a member of second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan's legal team, told reporters on Tuesday after a Yerevan court again postposed a hearing in the case of Kocharyan and three other former top officials.
The lawyer claims the charges have numerous defects which keep them being discussed over and over again.
Khudoyan noted that the legal shortcomings of the case are being discussed now, while the factual shortcomings will be discussed when they pass to the phase of trial.
He reminded that after the preliminary investigation the materials of the case are no longer kept secret, adding if there is someone who thinks that the materials are of any concern to Robert Kocharyan's lawyers, he can make them public.
"We are ready for their full publication," the lawyer said, emphasizing that they should not be out of context.
Judge Anna Danibekyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction again postponed a court hearing in the case of Kocharyan and the other ex-officials on Tuesday.
As the legal team of the former president said in a statement, the reason for the postponement was the absence of Yuri Khachaturov’s lawyer Mihran Poghosyan. Hovhannes Khudoyan noted that the court should undertake measures to ensure anti-epidemic and safety measures are in place before holding the hearings.
Prosecutor Gevorg Baghdasaryan, in turn, petitioned to limit the procedural right of the legal team to file various motions. As the prosecution argued the actions of the legal team prevent presentation of the final part of the indictment.
The presiding judge noted that the prosecutor’s petition contains issues that are impossible to address without the participation of the all lawyers and postponed the hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for June 30 at 1pm.