YEREVAN. – In 2008, the police were not under the President; now they are under the Prime Minister. Armenia's second President Robert Kocharyan stated this in court, during the trial of the criminal case against him and several other former senior officials, commenting on the statements of Seda Safaryan, a legal representative of the injured party.

"The prosecutor tried to explain what it means to 'overthrow the constitutional order,'" Kocharyan said. “He cited an example: the restriction of assembly. I assume he means my order, which imposed a state of emergency and restrictions. However, the restrictions, like all the other restrictions, applied only to Yerevan. A question arises: Can in a country, where there are thousands of communities, restrictions in one community be considered to be a violation of constitutional norms? I think the answer is clear.

“And secondly, Seda Safaryan stated that the police were under the President. I think the lawyer should know very well the Constitution that was in force at the time. The police are now directly under the Prime Minister; the President did not have such powers at the time. Get familiarized with the Constitution!”

The former President also recalled that the President at that time had no function related to public order.