Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan trial: Court postpones consideration of decision on motion to end criminal proceedings

YEREVAN. – At today’s hearing, Judge Anna Danibekyan, who is presiding over the court hearing of the criminal case against Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan and several former senior officials, returned from the consultation room and announced the decision regarding the motion to terminate the criminal proceedings against the defendants.

The court decided to postpone the consideration of this motion.

The defendants’ lawyers had filed a motion with the court to terminate the criminal proceedings against their clients. The underlying grounds for this motion are that they were charged under Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code, whereas the alleged act was committed more than a year before this article was adopted. The defense attorneys state that if this law worsens the defendant’s condition, it cannot have retroactive effect. The prosecution, however, does not agree with this view.

Earlier, those in the “case of seven” had been released from criminal proceedings due to this very circumstance.