Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court has ruled to remand former President Robert Kocharyan in custody for two months, according to Radio Free Europe’s Armenian service.
He is currently in hospital. The court began hearing the investigation’s application for a pre-trial detention order on the evening of 26 August, when Kocharyan was initially taken to court but was then returned to hospital, and the hearing continued in his absence.
Kocharyan was detained on 25 August following a search and taken to the Armenian Anti-Corruption Committee, where his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to hospital. His son, Levon Kocharyan, said that his father had heart problems and had undergone surgery two weeks earlier.
The former President of Armenia has been charged with abuse of office, money laundering involving particularly large sums, and accepting a bribe on a particularly large scale.
Robert Kocharyan’s eldest son, Sedrak, was remanded in custody the previous day on similar charges.
In addition to Robert and Sedrak Kocharyan, eight other people have been named as defendants in the corruption case. Among them are the former President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan; the former Prime Minister, Andranik Margaryan; the former Mayor of Yerevan, Gagik Beglaryan; and the head of the ‘Aigedzor’ company, Aramais Vorskanyan. It was reported that six people had been detained. According to the Anti-Corruption Committee, searches were carried out “at several dozen addresses”.
In June, Armenia’s Central Election Commission gave its consent to the criminal prosecution of Robert Kocharyan. Prior to this, he had been prevented from leaving the country. Levon Kocharyan stated at the time that his father was planning to travel to Russia. He denies the charges.