“We asked him if he had any connections to the March 1st case when he was a prosecutor. He said that he did not,” one of Robert Kocharyan’s lawyers, Aram Orbelyan, told reporters regarding Judge Artur Mkrtchyan, who is preparing to examine the possibility of Robert Kocharyan being released on bail.
Aravot had previously reported that the judge preparing to examine materials for allowing Robert Kocharyan to be freed on bail, Artur Mkrtchyan, was the General Prosecutor when in 1999, the then-Editor-in-Chief of the Armenian Times, Nikol Pashinyan, was sentenced to one year in prison. Kocharyan’s lawyers recused him, but not on that basis.
Aram Orbelyan announced before the court session that simply being the General Prosecutor does not qualify for recuse if it becomes clear that the Prime Minister has no connections. “I am referring to the wiretappings. In any case, if the court knows about it, it would be in its best interest to say so. We do not have such information right now that would allow us to recuse. If such connections become clear in the future, we will discuss recuse,” Orbelyan said.
The second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has been accused of violating the Armenian constitution and is currently detained.
The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction was preparing to discuss the possibility of allowing Robert Kocharyan to be released on bail.
Luiza Sukiasyan
