Armenia unveils ex-president’s absence from Anti-Corruption Court hearing

The office of Armenian ex-President Robert Kocharyan clarified his absence from the Anti-Corruption Court session on September 23.

Kocharyan’s office head, Bagrat Mikoyan, stated that the ex-president did not receive a notification regarding the court hearing, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media. 

He explained that Kocharyan has been abroad on a private visit since September 18, a trip that was planned before the session.

Mikoyan added that Kocharyan will return in the coming days and "will appear in court upon receiving notification." 

Kocharyan, along with former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, former Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan, and former Chief of Staff, as well as former Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Yuri Khachaturov, has been charged under Article 300.1 of the Armenian Criminal Code (overthrowing the constitutional order).

In March 2021, the Armenian Constitutional Court declared Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code invalid and unconstitutional, leading to the termination of criminal proceedings against those charged under it. In April 2021, the Court of General Jurisdiction in Yerevan granted the lawyer's motion in the "March 1" case, officially halting the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharyan, Armen Gevorgyan, Seyran Ohanyan, and Yuri Khachaturov under the now-unconstitutional Article 300.1, as ruled by the Constitutional Court.

Seyran Ohanyan and Yuri Khachaturov were released from criminal prosecution, as the charges against them were based on Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code. The court ruled to lift the previously imposed preventive measures and to remove the seizure of their assets.   Criminal proceedings in the "March 1" case against Robert Kocharyan and Armen Gevorgyan were also terminated, but only under the aforementioned article.

In summer 2024, the Constitutional Court recognised Part 3 of Article 309.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, concerning the amendment and addition of charges, as constitutional. This ruling enabled the prosecution to reclassify the charges against Robert Kocharyan and other individuals, leading to the initiation of a new investigation.

By Naila Huseynova