Armenia's Central Election Commission has given the green light to cases against Robert Kocharyan
Armenia’s Central Election Commission has approved criminal proceedings against former President Robert Kocharyan and a number of his political allies. The decision concerns several figures from opposition blocs and marks a new phase in the country’s long-running political and legal proceedings.
Armenia’s Central Election Commission has approved criminal prosecution of former President Robert Kocharyan, who heads the opposition alliance “Armenia,” as well as several of his allies from the “Armenia” and “Strong Armenia” political groups. The decision also applies to Asatur Kocharyan, Ruslan Barsegyan, David Kazinyan, and Ashot Yegiazaryan, according to Radio Free Europe’s Armenian service.
According to the investigation, Robert Kocharyan is suspected of abuse of office and money laundering. A separate aspect of the case concerns a 2004 agreement to lease a plot of land linked to a company that owned the “Master Class” tennis court. A stake in this company was later acquired by the former president’s son in 2008, after Kocharyan’s presidential term had ended, and the defense insists that Kocharyan himself was not involved in these transactions.
The former president’s attorney, Aram Orbelyan, asserts that the financial transactions under investigation are lawful, and that the Kocharyan family’s involvement in the deals dating back to 2004 has allegedly not been proven. At the same time, the political repercussions of the case intensified after judicial and law enforcement authorities began restricting the former president’s movements.
It is known that Kocharyan was previously prevented from leaving the country—the incident occurred at Zvartnots Airport when he attempted to fly out of the country for a few days. According to his son, Levon Kocharyan, his father had planned a trip to Russia but was stopped by law enforcement and was unable to leave Armenia.
Davit Kazinyan, the former head of the company “Electric Networks of Armenia,” is also mentioned in the case files; according to the investigation, he may have been involved in organizing voter bribery. Anti-corruption authorities claim that the investigation includes recordings indicating possible agreements regarding payments to voters; however, the individuals implicated in the case either deny these allegations or comment on them cautiously.
The Anti-Corruption Court has already ruled to remand one of the suspects in custody for two months, which has further intensified the political debate in the country. The situation surrounding the case of Kocharyan and his associates continues to cause a stir in Armenia, where the standoff between the government and the opposition remains one of the key factors in domestic politics. This was reported by Radio Free Europe’s Armenian service.
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