YEREVAN. – Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan is undergoing postoperative care, and therefore his attendance to the court hearings is not yet possible. Armen Charchyan, Executive Director of Izmirlian Medical Center in capital city Yerevan, has stated this in response to a request by Kocharyan’s attorneys.

At the start of Tuesday’s hearing—at the Shengavit District seat of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, with Judge Anna Danibekyan presiding—on the criminal case involving Robert Kocharyan and several other former senior officials, Aram Vardevanyan, one of Kocharyan’s legal defenders, submitted to the court the aforementioned response to their request.

Accordingly, Charchyan has informed that the ex-president’s attendance to these court hearings is impossible for the next one to two weeks.

And given that the trial could not proceed without this defendant, Tuesday’s hearing was adjourned.

On October 9, Robert Kocharyan underwent a surgery at Izmirlian Medical Center.

On June 25, the Criminal Court of Appeal overturned the May 18 ruling by a Yerevan first-instance court to terminate the aforesaid criminal case in connection with the events that occurred in Yerevan in March 2008, sent the case for a retrial, and ruled that Robert Kocharyan be remanded in custody.

Second President Robert Kocharyan, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and former CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov, former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, and former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Secretary of the National Security Council Armen Gevorgyan are defendants in this case.

But solely Robert Kocharyan is in custody along the lines of this case. The second president has been remanded in custody three times within one year; the last one was on June 25, by the decision of Judge Armen Danielyan of the Criminal Court of Appeal.

A signature bond to not leave Armenia has been selected as a pretrial measure for Seyran Ohanyan and Armen Gevorgyan, whereas bail—for Yuri Khachaturov.

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 presidential election on February 19, 2008. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes.