08:35, 17 May 2019

NKR presidents pledge for Robert Kocharyan

A court session in the case of Robert Kocharyan. May 19, 2019. Photo by Tigran Petrosyan for the "Caucasian Knot"

Bako Saakyan, the head of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), and his predecessor, Arkady Gukasyan, have guaranteed to the court that the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, will not hide if released from custody. Mr Kocharyan has denied the use of Karabakh soldiers to disperse demonstrators in 2008.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the court in Yerevan is considering a petition of the defence, asking to release Robert Kocharyan, from arrest. The court sessions are held against the backdrop of mass actions held by both Kocharyan's supporters and opponents.

Robert Kocharyan is accused within the case of clashes between law enforcers and oppositional protesters on March 1-2, 2008. He is also charged with receiving a bribe of three million US dollars. On May 14, 2019, Mr Kocharyan told about the dispersal of protests in 2008, noting that such a decision was made because the secret services reported that the demonstrators had been arming.

Bako Saakyan and Arkady Gukasyan gave their written guarantees under the release of Kocharyan and deposited 500 thousand drams (about 1100 US dollars) to the court's account as a bail.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 16, 2019 at 09:24 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan

Source: CK correspondent