A general jurisdiction court in the Armenian capital of Yerevan rejected on Friday the request of the defense of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan to stop criminal prosecution against him on the grounds of his immunity, a Sputnik correspondent reported
YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2019) A general jurisdiction court in the Armenian capital of Yerevan rejected on Friday the request of the defense of former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan to stop criminal prosecution against him on the grounds of his immunity, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
"The court has rejected the request to stop criminal prosecution of Kocharyan," judge Gagik Pogosyan said.
Pogosyan added that the defense could appeal the decision within 10 days.
Kocharyan's lawyer has told reporters earlier that the prosecution was obliged to drop charges against Kocharyan after the country's Court of Appeal ruled in summer 2018 that the former president should be released on the grounds of his immunity. However, criminal procedures against Kocharyan continued, and he was subject to travel restrictions.
Kocharyan, who served as Armenian president from 1998 to 2008, was charged in July 2018 with an attempt to overthrow Armenia's constitutional order during 2008 protests that erupted following the presidential election. On December 7, 2018, the Criminal Court of Appeal of the Republic of Armenia ruled to arrest him.
