Judge Vazgen Rshtoon Declares Self-Recusal in Kocharian Case

The judge of the Court of Appeals, Vazgen Rshtoon, who presides over the appeal concerning the criminal prosecution of Armenia's second president Robert Kocharian on grounds of immunity, has just made a decision to approve the self-recusal motion submitted by head of the investigation group of the March 1 case, Hrach Musheghyan.

It should be noted that the grounds for the investigator's request for the judge's self-recusal were based on the previous position expressed by judge Vazgen Rshtoon regarding the Kocharian case.

Additionally, after the Court of Appeals judge Alexander Azaryan released Kocharian from custody on the grounds of immunity in September 2018, Rshtoon stated in a conversation with journalists that he, as a lawyer, agrees with Azaryan's decision.