Kocharian to Celebrate New Year in Prison as Judge Goes on Leave

Former President of Armenia Robert Kocharian will remain in custody as a personal guarantee will once again be submitted for his release. This was announced today in court by Kocharian's lawyer, Haik Alumyans.

He requested the court to schedule a hearing in the coming days so they could submit a motion to change the pre-trial measure. “Dear court, you probably realize that the personal guarantee does not solely depend on us,” said Alumyans.

Judge Anna Danibekyan proposed that the motion be filed today, as there are already other court hearings scheduled for the following days. However, Kocharian's attorneys declined to do so.

Consequently, former President Robert Kocharian will welcome the New Year in prison. The reason for this is that Anna Danibekyan will go on leave starting December 10. Therefore, the trial will continue only in January 2020, after the holiday break.

It is worth noting that as part of the March 1 case, Robert Kocharian has been charged under the first part of Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia for having, in collusion with others, overthrown the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia on July 26, 2018.