Former President Robert Kocharyan denies wrongdoing as prosecutors request court to issue arrest warrant over 2008 unrest

A Yerevan court has adjourned the hearing over the motion to remand former President Robert Kocharyan in custody. The hearing is set to continue 01:30, Kocharyan’s attorney Aram Orbelyan said.

He said that Kocharyan wasn’t notified about the hearing beforehand and his client did not make an appearance.

Orbelyan said they will deliver a press conference tomorrow after scrutinizing the case.

Earlier criminal charges were pressed against Kocharyan over the March 1 case, and prosecutors requested a court to issue an arrest warrant.

In an interview to a local news media, Kocharyan denied any wrongdoing and said he doesn’t accept the charges.

“It was the decision of the Constitutional Court which acknowledges the legitimacy of the elections and this is final. Before pressing such kind of charges against me, at least half of the Central Electoral Commission should’ve been jailed, it should’ve been proved that they had committed fraud and have committed a crime while making a decision. There should’ve been some kind of acts, solutions, punishments and others at least regarding the Constitutional Court,” the former president said.

Kocharyan is charged with paragraph 1 of Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code (breaching Constitutional order).

The March 1 case is an ongoing investigation into the deadly 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. Kocharyan was the outgoing president at the time, as Serzh Sargsyan was named winner of the presidential election. Mass protests erupted in Yerevan, which led to fatal clashes between security forces and demonstrators.