YEREVAN. – Thursday’s court hearing on the criminal case against third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Flash fuel company owner of Barsegh Beglaryan, and head of the Plant Breeding Department of the Ministry of Agriculture Gevorg Harutyunyan, was rescheduled on the grounds that the witnesses in the case did not appear in court.

Witnesses Yeghishe Vardanyan and Sevan Kocharyan were to be questioned at this court session.

The next court hearing was scheduled for July 7.

Two other defendants in the case—Sergo Karapetyan and Samvel Galstyan—have died as a result of the coronavirus. And the charges against Serzh Sargsyan are based on Sergo Karapetyan's testimony.

According to the indictment of this criminal case, being organized by Sargsyan, pushed by Beglaryan, and assisted by former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan and Gevorg Harutyunyan, former Minister of Agriculture Sergo Karapetyan had squandered—from January 25 to February 7, 2013—AMD 489,160,310 of subsidy allocated from the government's reserve fund for the 15,391,765 liters of diesel fuel that was used during the implementation of state assistance programs.

Serzh Sargsyan has been charged under the Criminal Code article on large-scale embezzlement or squandering.

The third president, however, does not accept the charge against him. And his lawyers state that this process as political persecution.