Court Denies Kocharyan Permission to Travel to Moscow

The Armenia alliance has issued a statement: ‘As is known, the ruling party in Russia, “United Russia,” extended an invitation to the leader of the Armenia alliance and the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, to visit Moscow about a week ago. It was expected that the visit, which was set to begin on September 19, would discuss not only inter-party cooperation but also a range of other issues with the Russian side. However, the first instance court in Armenia rejected Robert Kocharyan’s request to travel abroad.

‘We are forced to cancel the visit. There was no legal basis for the court's denial, as President Kocharyan has traveled to Moscow multiple times without any issues recorded by the court. We are witnessing yet another instance of government pressure on the judiciary, aimed at limiting the political activities of the Armenia alliance. We assess what is happening as another manifestation of the regime’s narrow personal vendetta and a new proof of the complete absence of state thinking.’