A parliamentary opposition party in Armenia is decrying the arrest of a group of prominent government critics, including former president Robert Kocharyan, on corruption-related charges.
Kocharyan, his son Sedrak, and four others were detained on August 25. The next day a court considered a government motion to keep Kocharyan behind bars pending a trial. He and others face charges of money laundering, graft and abuse of power, acts allegedly committed between 1998 and 2008.
A statement issued by the Anti-Corruption Committee said a preliminary investigation determined Kocharyan used “various fabricated grounds and acquired a number of valuable properties of public and economic importance at prices significantly lower than the market price.”
The committee also described its motion to remand Kocharian into custody as a “preventative measure,” the official Armenpress news agency reported .
In all, 10 individuals are facing corruption charges in the case. Among those not confronting pre-trial detention at the moment is another former president, Serzh Sargsyan, who served as Kocharyan’s defense minister.
Kocharyan was heavily involved in opposition efforts to challenge Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in last June’s parliamentary election. Pashinyan’s Civic Contract Party ended up retaining a sizable majority in parliament. The Kocharyan-led Armenia Alliance garnered almost 10 percent of the vote and gained seats in the legislature.
The Armenia Alliance issued a statement calling the corruption charges politically motivated.
“The current government is … trying to deepen the atmosphere of fear in society,” the statement reads. “Neither President Kocharyan, nor his family, nor our political team can be suppressed or forced to come to terms with the current situation.”
