Nagorno Karabakh’s first President (1994-1997) and Armenia’s second President (1998-2008) Robert Kocharyan was arrested late on Friday after being charged in connection with the deadly breakup of opposition protests staged following a disputed presidential election in 2008.
A district court in Yerevan allowed the Special Investigative Service (SIS) to keep Kocharyan under arrest pending investigation into the crackdown which left ten people dead.
The court’s decision was communicated to the press by his lawyers shortly after midnight. One of them, Ruben Sahakyan, according to RFE/RL Armenian service, said they will appeal against it. He and the other attorney, Aram Orbelyan, declined to comment further, saying that they will hold a news conference on Saturday.
Kocharian was remanded in pre-trial custody after a lengthy court hearing attended by him. According to Sahakyan, the ex-president made no statements in the courtroom and reacted to the court ruling “very calmly.”
The SIS on Thursday charged Kocharyan with “overthrowing constitutional order” in the wake of the February 2008 election official results of which gave victory to his preferred successor, Serzh Sargsyan.
The former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) on Friday condemned as politically motivated coup charges brought against former President Robert Kocharyan.
Another major party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), which is represented in the country’s current government, similarly expressed serious concern over Kocharyan’s prosecution stemming from the 2008 poste-election violence in Yerevan.
“The accusation leaves the impression of purely political persecution and is ludicrous from the legal standpoint,” the HHK said in a statement.
“We consider the existing situation to be a threat to Armenia’s democratic development and a blow to efforts to build a full-fledged rule-of-law state,” added the party headed by Serzh Sargsyan, who succeeded Kocharyan as president in April 2008.
Dashnaktsutyun’s governing body in Armenia described the accusations levelled against Kocharyan as “extremely concerning.” It said that “they can be interpreted as political persecution.”
In a statement, the Dashnaktsutyun leadership also warned that the case could undermine “national unity” and “faith in the Armenian army.” It cited a prominent role played by Kocharyan in the 1991-1994 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Dashnaktsutyun, which is particularly influential in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora, was allied to Kocharyan throughout his 1998-2008 rule.
Dashnaktsutyun received two ministerial posts in the current Armenian government formed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in May following mass protests that forced Sargsyan into resignation.
