At this stage of the investigation of the March 1 criminal case, there is a need for the second president of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, to be in custody. RA General Prosecutor Artur Davtyan said this in a conversation with journalists, presenting the position of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia

According to him, the position of the prosecutor’s office is that Robert Kocharyan should remain in custody, for which they provide justifications. “These justifications prove that at this stage of the investigation there is a need for the second president to be in custody. I think only the court knows what decision the court will make,” said Artur Davtyan.

Referring to the decision of the Court of Cassation, which overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal to abolish the detention of Robert Kocharyan on the grounds of immunity and sent the case to the Court of Appeal for a new examination, Artur Davtyan explained in detail what question the Court of Cassation answered with that decision.

“Do you remember the most basic question being discussed in broad circles is whether or not the president is endowed with immunity after taking office or not? And the Court of Cassation, in fact, agreeing with the arguments of the complaint brought by me, confirmed that the fact that the act attributed to him is considered to be based on his status or not based on his status is of essential importance here.

And most importantly, already canceling the relevant decision of the Court of Appeals and thus the approach of the Court of Appeals that the second president of the Republic of Armenia is in fact endowed with immunity, and the actions attributed to him were considered by the Court of Appeals as stemming from the president’s functions, the Court of Cassation gave a clear answer that the circumstance of stemming from the functions should not be considered only from a formal point of view.

In other words, for example, does the president have the authority or right to adopt a relevant legal act or not, but it is necessary to consider whether the implementation of the authority fully complies with the Constitution or the laws in terms of content,” said Davtyan.

Robert Kocharyan, let’s remind, is accused of subverting the constitutional order with a group of people in the case of March 1.

On July 27, Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction chose a two-month detention as a preventive measure against him. On August 13, however, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision of the first instance solely on the basis of the immunity granted to the President by the Constitution.

Both Robert Kocharyan’s defense attorneys and Chief Prosecutor Artur Davtyan appealed to the Court of Cassation to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal to cancel Kocharyan’s restraining order. The Court of Cassation partially satisfied only the prosecutor’s complaint.