More than three years after declaring the coup charges against Robert Kocharian unconstitutional, the Constitutional Court has approved another trial for Armenia’s former president, sought by prosecutors. Kocharian, his former chief of staff Armen Gevorgian, and two retired army generals were initially prosecuted for their involvement in the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. They were acquitted in April 2021 after the Constitutional Court ruled their indictment violated the Armenian constitution.
Despite this acquittal, prosecutors appealed, seeking to charge the defendants with abuse of power related to the March 2008 events. The Court of Appeals upheld the acquittal, prompting prosecutors to escalate the case to the higher Court of Cassation, which then appealed to the Constitutional Court in March this year.
In its recent ruling, the Constitutional Court stated that Armenia’s Code of Procedural Justice permits prosecutors to bring a different accusation related to the use of force against anti-government protesters in March 2008, resulting in the deaths of eight protesters and two police officers. Kocharian’s lawyer, Hayk Alumian, criticized the ruling, accusing the court of overstepping its powers and enabling the Armenian authorities to continue Kocharian’s political persecution.
Kocharian, who also faced bribery charges in 2019, has denied all accusations. His trial for alleged bribery continued after the coup case was dismissed in April 2021 but ended without a verdict in December 2023 due to the statute of limitations expiring in May 2023. Consequently, he will not face jail time even if convicted in a new trial.
The Constitutional Court’s decision came a week after Judge Anna Danibekian, who presided over Kocharian’s trial, was removed from the bench by a judicial oversight body led by a political ally of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Kocharian, a vocal critic of the current government, was first arrested in July 2018 after Pashinyan’s “velvet revolution.” Now 69, Kocharian leads the main opposition Hayastan alliance. Pashinyan himself was a key figure in the 2008 protests and spent nearly two years in prison for his involvement.
