YEREVAN. – The Criminal Court of Appeal of Armenia on Monday rejected the appeal by Mihran Poghosyan, the attorney of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov, who is charged with breaching the country’s constitutional order, and upheld the ruling of the first instance court.

Poghosyan informed about the aforementioned to Yerkir.am.

The attorney had appealed the first instance court’s decision on considering remanding his client in custody to be permissible.

When examining the petition for remanding Khachaturov in custody, a first instance court in capital city Yerevan had found that even though this precautionary measure would be permissible in this case, it had decided to release him on bail.

As per Mihran Poghosyan, however, this decision of the first instance court is controversial.

Incumbent CSTO Secretary General and Armenia’s former Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Khachaturov has been charged within the framework of the criminal case into the tragic events that transpired in capital city Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008—and under Article 300.1 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code; that is, breaching Armenia’s constitutional order, in conspiracy with others. On July 27, however, Khachaturov was released on bail; and on August 4, he returned to Moscow to his duties as CSTO Secretary General.

On March 1 and 2, 2008, the then authorities used force against the opposition members who were rallying in downtown Yerevan, and against the results of the recent presidential election. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes. But no one had been brought to account for these deaths, to this day.

Link`  Yerkir.am