YEREVAN, May 20 /ARKA/. А court in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, ruled on May 18 the release of ex-president Robert Kocharyan from pre-trial detention.
Judge David Grigoryan ruled that Kocharyan be released under the personal guarantees of the current and second presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasian respectively, who submitted a written vouch that he would appear in court when the trial resumes and would not obstruct it. According to media reports, Sahakyan and Gukasyan paid each 500,000 drams (more than $1,000) as a bail.
Kocharyan’s lawyer, Aram Oreblyan, told reporters that the risk of obstruction of justice remains, saying the government should take action to level it.
In turn, prosecutor Petros Petrosyan said that he intended to appeal the decision of the court. “We have received the court ruling and have not yet read it, but I can say that we are going to appeal this decision,” he said.
Kocharyan went on trial earlier this month on charges of overthrowing the constitutional order during the final weeks of his decade-long rule that ended in April 2008 and taking bribes.
The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 following the disputed presidential election, when then prime minister Serzh Sargsyan was declared the winner, angering the opposition, led by the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1, in which 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured. -0-