Ruben Sahakyan and Aram Orbelyan, the attorneys of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, are holding a press conference.

They are presenting the details of the decisions to bring a charge against and the subsequent arrest of their client.

In the early morning hours on Saturday, a capital city Yerevan court remanded Second President Robert Kocharyan—who is a defendant along the lines of the ongoing criminal case into the tragic events that occurred in Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008—in custody for two months.

Kocharyan was questioned Thursday at the Special Investigation Service, and in connection with the aforesaid case. Subsequently, the second President was indicted.

A charge has been brought against Robert Kocharyan, former Defense Minister Mikayel Harutyunyan, and incumbent Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov—who was serving as head of Yerevan Garrison during the events that transpired in Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008—within the framework of the aforesaid criminal case, and under Article 300.1 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code; that is, breaching Armenia’s constitutional order, in conspiracy with others.

Harutyunyan is not in Armenia, and therefore a search for him was declared; Khachaturov was released on bail, whereas Kocharyan has been remanded in custody by court decision.

Ex-President Robert Kocharyan had given an interview on Thursday evening, and during which he had said the criminal case against him was trumped-up and a political vendetta.

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.