More than 60 cultural figures from Armenia and Russia have issued a statement calling for the release of the first president of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and second president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, and to commute his pretrial measure.

"We are concerned about the moral and psychological climate in Armenia," their statement reads, in particular. “The inhumane desire to keep the second president of Armenia in prison cell during the entire the trial of the case of overthrow of the constitutional order is incomprehensible to us. They could not convince us that if he is at liberty, he can escape justice if his guilt is proved.

We appreciate Robert Kocharyan as a statesman. Most of us know him personally. We cannot indifferently look at what is happening. We believe that the current situation of the president [Kocharyan] is unnatural and does not contribute to the positive image of Armenia and the recovery of the public atmosphere in the country.

We propose to take a step towards establishing solidarity and for the future. We ask to commute the pretrial measure of the second president of the Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan."