Judge Anna Danibekyan presiding over the trial of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, former Chief of the army’s General Staff Yuri Khachaturov and two other former top officials, seems not to be inclined to act in accordance with the legislation, Khachaturov’s lawyer Mihran Poghosyan told reporters after a court hearing in the case concerning an alleged overthrow of the constitutional order on Tuesday.
His comments came as the judge refused to dismiss the case following a ruling of the Constitutional Court that found Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code, under which the ex-officials are being prosecuted, unconstitutional and invalid, saying it runs counter to Articles 78 and 79 of the Constitution.
"I cannot say what orders have been given to Anna Danibekyan, but I do not see that Ms. Danibekyan is motivated to act in line with the law, otherwise a decision to dismiss the criminal case would have been made today," Poghosyan said.
Also, he ruled out new charges against his client, pointing to the absence of factual circumstances for them.
Poghosyan unveiled the defense lawyers’ intention to appeal against the actions of Danibekyan, noting after the case was assigned to her, the judge’s actions in other cases also changed dramatically.
"It was not accidental that I told judge Danibekyan during today’s court hearing not to be offended by our qualifications, because it is only her fault that as a result of constant gross violations of the law in a year and a half, a situation has been created when the defense questions Anna Danibekyan's competence,” the lawyer said.