The announcing of the Anti-Corruption Court's decision on the motion to extend the pretrial detention of Armenia's second President Robert Kocharyan, scheduled for 5:30pm, has not yet taken place as of 6:30pm, lawyer Aram Orbelyan told reporters Friday.
The attorney found it hard to say what this is due to, but did not rule out that the presiding judge is still working on the decision. Orbelyan added that during the hearing, which lasted until 4am Friday, extensive information was presented to the court, which completely eliminates doubts about the guilt of the second president and confirms the need to terminate his pretrial detention.
"We are waiting for a positive decision—the rejection of the prosecutors' request by the court. There is no need for a preventive measure. The process has a certain political context or meaning," the lawyer noted, adding that in addition to everything, Robert Kocharyan is deprived of the opportunity to establish contact with the opposition "Armenia" bloc, which he heads, in the case when electoral processes are underway in Armenia's local self-government bodies, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project is being discussed in the National Assembly, etc.
Also, Aram Orbelyan informed that his motion to join the defense team of Robert Kocharyan's son, Sedrak Kocharyan—who also is in pretrial detention—was denied by the court and appealed.