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Armenian Ex-President Kocharian Taken Into Custody Over 2008 Crackdown

RFE/RL's Armenian Service July 27, 2018

YEREVAN -- Former President Robert Kocharian has been taken into custody by Armenian authorities after being charged a day earlier in connection with the deadly breakup of opposition protests following the disputed presidential election in 2008.

A Yerevan district court late on July 27 ruled that the Special Investigative Service (SIS) would be allowed to keep Kocharian under arrest pending investigation into the crackdown that left 10 people dead, including two police officers.

One of Kocharian's lawyers, Ruben Sahakian, said the former president will appeal against his pretrial custody.

Sahakian and another attorney, Aram Orbelian, declined to comment further and said they would hold a news conference at midday on July 28.

Kocharian has denied the charges as politically motivated and said the crackdown on protesters was necessary to prevent an illegal takeover of government by another former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian.

The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 in the wake of a disputed election to determine Kocharian's successor.

Kocharian's ally, Serzh Sarkisian, was declared the winner, angering the opposition and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a deadly crackdown on March 1.

Kocharian is accused of illegally ordering the violent dispersal of protesters.

Earlier on July 27, the Armenian chief of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Yuri Khachaturov, was charged with similar offenses related to the 2008 crackdown.

Khachaturov was Armenia's deputy defense minister at the time.

He told reporters upon his arrival to court that he denied any wrongdoing.

Officials said Khachaturov would be released after paying a bail of about $10,000.

The CSTO is a regional grouping that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and is seen by Moscow as a way counter the European Union and NATO.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/29394682.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.