Video: Robert Kocharyan Cannot Be Detained, Says Aram Vardevanyan

The Constitutional Court's decision means that Robert Kocharyan cannot be subjected to detention. This was stated by Aram Vardevanyan, Kocharyan's representative, in an interview with Tert.am in front of the Constitutional Court.

In response to the question of whether this means that Robert Kocharyan should be released from detention, Vardevanyan said, “Yes! I urge all those who see issues with this final part to look at Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Code.”

Recall that the Constitutional Court published its decision regarding the question of the compliance of Article 135, part 2, and Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia with the Constitution based on Robert Kocharyan's application. The President of the Constitutional Court, Hrayr Tovmasyan, announced the final part of the decision.

“The Constitutional Court decided to recognize that the part of Article 35 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, which does not foresee the functional immunity of officials with special protection as circumstances excluding the criminal proceeding or prosecution, is contrary to points 4 of part 1 of Article 27, part 1 of Article 61, part 1 of Article 63, and Articles 75 of the Constitution, and is therefore invalid.”

According to the second point of the decision, part 2 of Article 135 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code is in accordance with the Constitution. Additionally, Constitutional Court judges Felix Tokhyan and Arman Dilyan have special opinions that will be published soon. The Court’s decision is final and takes effect from the moment of publication. The document is expected to be published within three days.

It should be noted that Article 35 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, which was recognized as unconstitutional, defines the circumstances excluding the criminal proceeding or prosecution, while part 2 of Article 135 of the Criminal Procedure, which is in accordance with the Constitution, states that detention of the accused can only be applied when there is reasonable suspicion that they have committed an offense for which the maximum penalty of imprisonment exceeds one year, and there are sufficient grounds to believe that the accused may commit any act stipulated in part 1 of this article.

Video: Tert.am.