Nagorno-Karabakh’s current and former leaders appeared before a court in Yerevan on Thursday to reaffirm their calls for the release of Armenia’s Karabakh-born former President Robert Kocharian from custody.
Karabakh President Bako Sahakian and his predecessor Arkadi Ghukasian first asked the court to free Kocharian pending the outcome of his trial on Tuesday. They said they can guarantee that the ex-president will display “appropriate behavior” and not obstruct justice if set free.
The presiding judge, Davit Grigorian, responded by saying that both Sahakian and Ghukasian must come to the court and personally offer such guarantees. The two men did just that. Each of them deposited 500,000 drams ($1,030) before signing a relevant document in the courtroom.
They then sat next to Kocharian as the court continued hearings on his lawyers’ separate demand for his release.
In a joint letter to Armenia’s Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian sent last week, Sahakian and Ghukasian cited Kocharian’s “huge contribution” to the Armenian victory in the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. Kocharian, who is facing coup charges stemming from the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan, ran Karabakh from 1992-1997. He was Armenia’s president from 1998-1999.
Armenia -- Karabakh President Bako Sahakian (C) and his predecessor Arkadi Ghukasian (R) shake hands with prosecutors during former Armenian President Robert Kocharian's trial in Yerevan, May 16, 2019.
The Karabakh leaders left the courtroom only after the judge decided to continue the trial in closed session at Kocharian’s request. The latter said his further arguments contain state secrets. It was announced afterwards that the judge’s decision on the ex-president’s detention will be made public on Saturday.
The trial prosecutors oppose Kocharian’s release. One of them, Petros Petrosian, argued on Tuesday that he expressed a desire to leave the country after being set free in August. Petrosian said the defendant could therefore flee the prosecution.
Kocharian condemned that claim as “immoral.” “I didn’t flee the war,” he said. “I didn’t escape from a hundred dangers. Why would I escape from them?”
The 64-year-old ex-president as well as his former chief of staff Armen Gevorgian and retired army Generals Seyran Ohanian and Yuri Khachaturov stand accused of “overthrowing the constitutional order” in the wake of a disputed presidential election held in 2008. They all deny the accusations.
Kocharian and Gevorgian were also charged with bribe-taking earlier this year. They deny these charges as well.