Armenia’s ex-president Kocharyan urges judge for recusal

Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan’s defense team filed a petition for the recusal of judge Armen Danielyan.

Presenting the petition Hayk Alumyan stressed that the decision for the consideration of the petition against Kocharyan by judge Armen Danielyan is not clear for them.

“Ascribing the petition by prosecutor Petros Petrosyan to you is rather suspicious as there was already a case considered at the Court of Appeal,” he said, stressing that ascribing the consideration of the two petitions of the same case to Danielyan is rather suspicious.

“Our observation is that it has been done due to some peculiarities of your personality. You are the judge who makes judicial acts contradicting the positions of the prosecutors very seldom,” Alumyan said.

Other members of the defense team, lawyer of Yuri Khachaturov as well as Robert Kocharyan joined the petition for judge’s recusal.

“About a week ago a judge has declared about recusal considering the doubts. If any of the parties has serious doubts he accepted them and announced recusal. To exclude mistakes from the very beginning and without personalizing the issue I urge you to announce about recusal,” Kocharyan said.

In response, prosecutor general Artur Davtyan stated the demand grounded with "some doubts: is not serious.

Lawyers of Seyran Ohanyan and Yuri Khachaturov asked the court to provide them some materials to express their position over the submitted petition.

The court hearing has been set for June 14.