I don’t share the court’s statement that failure by third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and other ex-officials to attend the next hearing will be considered inexcusable. This is what Serzh Sargsyan’s attorney Amram Makinyan told reporters today.

“In any case, the right to protection of life and health is primary. This right is overriding. The measures taken in the fight against the pandemic haven’t been effective to date. Today the government officially declared that intensive care units are fully overcrowded and that ten people will be dying every day. This is truly a force-majeure,” he said.

Today the court considered the issue of resuming the hearings and scheduled the next hearing for August 6.

The accused-on-trial weren’t attending the hearing, but the court considered this excusable.

According to the indictment, in the period between January 25 and February 7, 2013, Sergo Karapetyan, organized by Serzh Sargsyan, incited by Barsegh Beglaryan and with the help of Samvel Galstyan and Gevorg Harutyunyan, wasted from the reserve fund of the government a particularly large amount of money from the subsidy allocated for diesel fuel sold during implementation of state support programs.

Serzh Sargsyan doesn’t accept the charge brought against him, and his attorney Amram Makinyan claims that the charge is phony. According to presses, the charge is based on Sergo Karapetyan’s testimony. Sergo Karapetyan and Serzh Sargsyan have confronted.