Armenian court revisits constitutional overthrow case with key figures absent from hearing

A court hearing on the case of alleged efforts to overthrow Armenia’s constitutional order is currently underway in the anti-corruption criminal court in Yerevan.

The case involves former President Robert Kocharyan, former Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, ex-CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov, and former Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan, all of whom were initially accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

However, in March 2021, Armenia's Constitutional Court ruled the charges under Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional, effectively terminating the criminal proceedings against them.

Despite the Constitutional Court's decision, the Court of Cassation ruled on September 12, 2023, to reverse the dismissal of charges against Kocharyan, Khachaturov, and others, allowing the reclassification of the charges. This has led to the continuation of the trial, although today's session is taking place without the indictment and the accused present.

The individuals in question — Kocharyan, along with former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, former Defence Minister Ohanyan, and former CSTO Secretary General Khachaturov — were initially charged under Article 300.1 for allegedly attempting to overthrow the constitutional order. Following the Constitutional Court’s ruling in March 2021, Article 300.1 was declared invalid, and charges against them under this article were dropped. The Court of General Jurisdiction in Yerevan subsequently halted the criminal prosecution of Kocharyan, Gevorgyan, Ohanyan, and Khachaturov in April 2021.

The charges against Ohanyan and Khachaturov were entirely dropped due to the unconstitutional nature of Article 300.1, and they were released from criminal prosecution. The court also lifted the previously imposed preventive measures and unfreeze their assets. Similarly, the criminal proceedings against Kocharyan and Gevorgyan were terminated under this article, but only for the charges directly related to Article 300.1.

In the summer of 2024, the Constitutional Court declared Part 3 of Article 309.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows for the amendment and addition of charges, to be constitutional. This ruling enabled the prosecution to reclassify the charges against Kocharyan and others, leading to the reopening of the investigation and the continuation of legal proceedings.

By Tamilla Hasanova