YEREVAN. – Until today, it was planned that the judge will consider the matter of Robert Kocharyan’s pretrial measure on September 12. But when the Constitutional Court made this decision, every day and hour that Kocharyan is in detention is already a direct violation of the law. Hayk Alumyan, a member of the legal defense team of Armenia’s second President Kocharyan, said this at a press conference on Saturday.

Consequently, according to him, the court of general jurisdiction should immediately address this pretrial measure.

“At this very moment, [Kocharyan’s legal] defenders [Aram] Orbelyan and [Hovhannes] Khudoyan are filing motions with the Yerevan court of general jurisdiction, requesting to immediately convene a court session and discuss the matters of pretrial measure and termination of the political persecution [against Kocharyan],” Alumyan said.

The attorney added that he sees no precondition for not carrying out the decision of the Constitutional Court.

To the remark that according to the aforesaid decision, there is no body in Armenia that can determine which actions stem from the status of a retired president, and therefore it turns out that the retired presidents of Armenia shall not be prosecuted for any action, Alumyan responded as follows: “The gap in the law has caused such a consequence.

“Here we already have to look at what is followed by the Constitution. The presumption is [presidential] immunity. Are there exceptions to this? Or vice versa? The presumption is being deprived of immunity, and immunity is an exception.

“The first sentence in the Constitution [of Armenia] is as follows: ‘The President of the Republic is untouchable;’ that is, it sets a presumption, and then it sets exceptions.”

On the basis of second President Robert Kocharyan’s petition, the Constitutional Court recently deemed unconstitutional Article 35 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia, and which refers to cases that rule out criminal prosecution in the country.

Robert Kocharyan is charged with overthrowing the constitutional order in Armenia in connection with the tragic events that occurred in capital city Yerevan in March 2008, and taking a particularly large bribe. He has been arrested three times.

On March 1 and 2, 2008 the then authorities of Armenia used force against the opposition members who were rallying in downtown Yerevan, and against the results of the presidential election on February 19, 2008. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes.