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The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction on Tuesday ruled to end the criminal prosecution of Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan under Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code.

“The court ruled to terminate the criminal prosecution against Robert Kocharyan under Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code on the grounds of lack of corpus delicti,” said presiding judge Anna Danibekyan.

The ruling came after Armenia’s Constitutional Court declared Article 300.1 concerning “overthrow of the constitutional order” unconstitutional and invalid on 26 March, stating it runs counter to Articles 78 and 79 of the Constitution.

Kocharyan’s lawyers had filed a motion to the court to stop the criminal proceedings against their client citing the Constitutional Court ruling, which was strongly opposed by the trial prosecutors at the April 2 hearing.

The presiding judge, however, today denied a defense motion to remove bail as a measure of restraint imposed on Kocharyan or reduce its amount.