The pretrial detention of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, should be viewed in the context of the Armenian authorities’ attempt to weaken all power centers that may show resistance on matters that contradict Armenia's interests, whether it be relations with Russia or Iran, European values, or the fulfillment of Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s demands, lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan said during a press conference Tuesday.

According to him, the Armenian authorities are striving not only to neutralize any such center with its human and financial resources, but also to seize the material part of these resources. The lawyer recalled that the previously initiated process of confiscation of property encountered serious legal problems, which is why the authorities decided to act within the framework of criminal justice. All these processes are illegal from beginning to end, the facts are ignored, and everything is built on convictions and assumptions, the lawyer added.

Responding to the question about the legal grounds for choosing pretrial detention, Khudoyan emphasized that an innocent person cannot be detained, it is a crime.

He recalled that during the process against Robert Kocharyan on charges of violating the constitutional order, the charge was chosen in such a way that there was an opportunity to detain Kocharyan.

A similar process is taking place now: they are trying to attribute to the second president actions that have nothing to do with the Kocharyan family, exclusively in order to circumvent the statute of limitations. The investigative body raised the issue of the statute of limitations at a time when the lawyers were not yet talking about it, Khudoyan noted, not ruling out that this was an attempt to put pressure on the court.

The attorney did not want to go into detail about Robert Kocharyan’s health condition, emphasizing only his inherent strength of spirit.

But at the same time, the lawyer noted some restrictions, for example, regarding Robert Kocharyan being visited in the penitentiary by his son, opposition MP Levon Kocharyan. As a lawmaker, Levon Kocharyan can visit his father more often, but in the penitentiary they see only the kinship.

Responding to the question about the possibility of new criminal cases against Robert Kocharyan’s comrades-in-arms, the parliament’s opposition “Armenia” Faction member Levon Kocharyan did not rule out anything.

“We are the political force that has shown in word and deed that it is not subject to any pressure. That is why we are a problem for them [i.e. the Armenian authorities]; we do not make deals,” the MP noted.

Agnesa Khamoyan, another lawmaker from the aforesaid faction, raised the question of whether anyone can explain at all what Robert Kocharyan is accused of. The MP noted that he is accused of signing government decisions 20 years ago, although according to the law he could not have acted differently and was obligated to do so. They accuse him of signing with the expectation that his son would be able to make use of it in 10-20 years, but this also does not explain the pretrial detention.

“Everything is explained by [the fact] that Armenia is facing serious processes, and [Armenian PM Nikol] Pashinyan needs to prevent the formation of pockets of resistance,” Khamoyan repeated her previously expressed thought.

Responding to a question about the consequences of the seizure of property on ordinary workers, Levon Kocharyan called it illogical that business is idle. At the same time, he assured that none of their businesses has hidden a single penny from the Armenian tax authorities.

Agnesa Khamoyan noted that this is a new practice and began with the persecution of the businesses of opposition Prosperous Armenia Party leader and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan.

“Now we see that first and foremost, ordinary citizens, not Robert Kocharyan or his son, are the ones who suffer from political persecution. There is no work, instead there is uncertainty, and it is not clear on what legal basis the seizure of the business was carried out,” Khamoyan stated, adding that she has sent petitions to investigative bodies to clarify the matter.