The two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s parliament said on Wednesday that they see no political reasons for the latest arrest of former President Robert Kocharian.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals allowed investigators to arrest Kocharian on Tuesday more than one month after he was freed by a lower court pending the outcome of his trial. The ex-president and the decision as politically motivated.
“We see no elements of political persecution,” said Ani Samsonian, a senior parliamentarian from the opposition Bright Armenia Party (LHK). “For us, this case is a purely legal process.”
Iveta Tonoyan, a lawmaker representing the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), similarly said that the arrest and broader criminal proceedings against Kocharian should be “viewed on the legal plane.”
Still, speaking at a joint news conference, both Tonoyan and another senior BHK figure, deputy parliament speaker Vahe Enfiajian, declined to comment on Kocharian’s latest claim that “there is neither law nor order” in Armenia. Asked whether the BHK agrees with the claim, Enfiajian said: “I agree with the supremacy of the law.”
By contrast, Kocharian’s prosecution has been repeatedly condemned by the former ruling Republican Party (HHK) and other opposition groups not represented in the current National Assembly. HHK spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov on Tuesday described Kocharian as a political prisoner.
In a separate statement, the HHK’s governing body said the Court of Appeals made a “purely political decision.” “This process has nothing to do with democracy, the rule of law and judicial independence,” it said.
Parliament deputies from the ruling My Step alliance continued to deny, however, any political motives behind Kocharian’s prosecution. One of them, Anna Karapetian, said law-enforcement authorities are simply seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the 2008 post-election crackdown on opposition protesters in Yerevan.
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