Former president Robert Kocharian during an interview last week with Yerkir Media
YEREVAN—Armenia’s Prosecutor General on Monday officially appealed a decision to release former president Robert Kocharian from pre-trial detention. Also on Monday, Armenia’s Special Investigative Service reported that Kocharian’s mansion and office were searched as part of the ongoing investigation into charges that the former president breached Armenia’s constitutional order in relation to the March 1, 2008 post-election unrest during which eight civilians and two police officers were killed.
The Prosecutor General’s office filed the appeal at Armenia’s Court of Cassation, a higher court, which will hear the case and make a decision on the appeal’s court ruling, which deemed Kocharian’s incarceration as un-constitutional given a provision in the constitution that shields Armenia’s leaders from being prosecuted even after they leave office.
Since his release on August 13, Kocharian has announced that he will enter Armenia’s political arena to challenge the current leadership, which he claims are not experienced enough to govern Armenia given the current geopolitical realities. Kocharian also has asserted that the charges against him are a “political vendettaâ€
