I officially announce that Robert Kocharyan is a political prisoner. Hayk Alumyan, a member of the legal team of the second president of RA, Robert Kocharyan, announced this in a conversation with journalists at the Criminal Court of Appeal on February 7.

According to him, Kocharyan’s lawyers will appeal to the RA Court of Cassation against the decision of the Appellate Criminal Court to reject the appeal submitted by the defense regarding the release of Robert Kocharyan from detention.

Alumyan mentioned that the legal group will also include today’s decision of the Appellate Criminal Court in the third complaint to be submitted to the ECtHR in Kocharyan’s case, emphasizing the fact that Kocharyan was subjected to political persecution. “I officially declare that Robert Kocharyan is a political prisoner, and we will address this provision in the complaint to be submitted to the European Court,” he said.

The appeal criminal court of RA, chaired by judge Mnatsakan Harutyunyan, decided to reject the second president of RA Robert Kocharyan the complaint of the defenders and to leave unchanged the decision of the court of first instance to extend Kocharyan’s detention period.

Kocharyan’s defense attorneys filed an appeal after the decision of the court of first instance on January 18.

The Court of First Instance, by its decision of January 18, granted the request of the investigator of the Special Investigation Service to extend the period of detention of Robert Kocharyan and rejected the defense’s request to replace the detention chosen as a preventive measure against Robert Kocharyan with bail as an alternative preventive measure.