Offensive Remarks Directed at the Defense Side: Should We Enter This Hall or Not? Alumyann

During the trial of Robert Kocharian and others, defense attorney Haik Alumyann stated that some speeches concerning the objections were longer than the objections themselves. He was commenting on Prosecutor Petros Petrosyan's motion to disqualify.

“In the courtroom today, several offensive remarks were made against the defense side. The court must create an environment in which insults against us are impossible. Now, how the court will do that is not our obligation to think about. If we enter this hall, we must be assured that there can be no offense against us. If the court is unable to create that environment, then we need to think about whether we will enter this hall at all,” he said.

He mentioned that his French colleague, one of Kocharian's defense team, left the trial. According to Alumyann, he does not know why his colleague left but speculates that he may not have understood that it was a court. “Perhaps he hasn’t seen that such offensive statements are made in court; this can be called everything except for a court and a judicial session,” he added.

Alumyann then noted that he speaks on his own behalf that if he is not confident that offensive remarks will not be directed at him upon entering the court, it is possible he simply will not be able to enter there. “You must create a situation in which it is initially impossible to insult me,” he said, addressing Judge Anna Danibekyan.

The defense attorney also referred to the statements that were made with proper wording. He argued that Prosecutor Petros Petrosyan was obliged to initiate a criminal case precisely at the time when the Prime Minister of Armenia publicly called for blocking the courts, which was indeed carried out.