The Court of Appeal rejected the petition of the defense team of Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan to replace the judge examining the issue on changing the preventive measure against former president and applying arrest instead.

The examination of the petition on changing second president's preventive measure will continue tomorrow, on November 29.

Kocharyan’s attorney Hayk Alumyan described court's decision as “definitely illegal decision.”

The attorney said they are going to submit a big number of petitions at tomorrow's session.

According to one of them, they are going to apply to the Constitutional Court to dispute the constitutionality of 2008 Criminal Code’s Article 300.

Second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan was 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, Kocharyan was remanded in custody for two months by a court decision. But on August 13, the Court of Appeal granted Robert Kocharyan’s legal defenders’ appeal to commute the first-instance court’s decision on remanding their client in custody, and Kocharyan was released from courtroom on the grounds that he had presidential immunity.

Both the Prosecutor General’s Office and the defense, however, appealed this decision. In addition, the defense argued that there were other grounds too for the release of their client.

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 then 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.