YEREVAN. – Defense attorney Erik Aleksanyan has motioned the court to discuss the impossibility of continuing the criminal prosecution against Armen Gevorgyan, former Deputy Prime Minister and currently an MP of the opposition "Armenia" Faction. The respective verbal motion was submitted by the lawyer at Tuesday’s court hearing on the criminal case of second President—and opposition “Armenia” Faction leader—Robert Kocharyan, and Armen Gevorgyan.
The aforesaid motion came to be spontaneously. The presiding judge noted that since the lawyer had earlier mentioned the consistency of the criminal prosecution in connection with the "Armenia" Faction applying to the Constitutional Court (CC) in the case of parliamentary immunity, she will wait for the respective decision of the Constitutional Court and will not consider this issue.
Robert Kocharyan clarified the issue of applying to the Constitutional Court. "It was about something else. When the prosecutor's office claimed that the CEC [(Central Electoral Commission)] overcome the [parliamentary] immunity of the two MPs of the [‘Armenia’] Faction. Maybe the lawyer meant that. Two mayors, elected MPs from the faction, have been arrested, and it is claimed that the CEC has overcome the immunity and there is no need to go to the NA [(National Assembly)]. It is about its constitutionality. There was no other discussion at the ‘Armenia’ Faction," he said.
After obtaining the court's consent, the aforementioned lawyer submitted a motion, the content of which concluded that the criminal prosecution could not be carried out during the period of parliamentary immunity without overcoming it.
As the Armenian law does not separate the criminal prosecution that started before or after being nominated as an MP, the lawyer motioned to apply to the Constitutional Court to determine this matter.
Under Armenian law, the parliamentary immunity of an MP can be terminated only by the parliament—and upon the respective petition by the prosecutor's office.
Robert Kocharyan clarified again that the issue of Armen Gevorgyan's parliamentary immunity was not discussed during the meetings of the “Armenia” Faction.
