11 May 2021, 17:28
Court refuses to grant Kocharyan a respite to prepare for elections
In Yerevan, a court dismissed a request filed by the defence of the second President of Armenia to postpone court hearings for the period while Robert Kocharyan was preparing for the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 20. A judge scheduled the next court hearing in the criminal case against Robert Kocharyan for May 25.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 9, former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan headed the new pre-election “Armenia” bloc, which included the opposition “Reviving Armenia” Party and the ARF “Dashnaktsutyun”.
Robert Kocharyan is involved as a defendant in the criminal case on money laundering, frauds, and receiving a large bribe.
At a court hearing in the case against Robert Kocharyan, his advocate Aram Vardevanyan requested the court to reconsider the schedule of court hearings and plan the next hearing not earlier than on June 20. The defender explains that the parliamentary elections, in which Robert Kocharyan will take part, are scheduled for June 20.
“All participants of the election are to have equal conditions. And since we have no victims in the case, the right of people to participate in elections is a priority. My client is to be provided with a chance to take part in the pre-election campaign, as he has the right to be elected,” Aram Vardevanyan emphasized.
In turn, a public prosecutor claims that the electoral process cannot interfere with court hearings and vice versa. Judge Anna Danibekyan agreed with the arguments of the public prosecutor and dismissed the defence motion, the edition reports.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 11, 2021 at 01:45 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
