Appeals court rejects complaint against Robert Kocharyan’s arrest: Aram Orbelyan

The Court of Appeal of Armenia has rejected a complaint against the arrest of Robert Kocharyan, Armenia’s second president, on the same grounds as in many other similar cases. Aram Orbelyan, Kocharyan’s lawyer, said this at a press conference.

He noted that the court gave general, formulaic wording on the grounds for the arrest, without a detailed justification.

According to Orbelyan, the complaint argued first of all that the actions attributed to Kocharyan do not give rise to a reasonable suspicion, since they concern events in which his actions were driven by the performance of his constitutional duties.

“I am not saying whether this claim or material has been proven or not. I am saying that the act he is accused of is the performance of his constitutional duties. The only motive for carrying out duties set by the Constitution is the performance of those very duties. Whether a person felt good or bad in the process, whether he was glad, sad or worried, cannot affect the assessment of this act,” Orbelyan said.