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A court hearing in the trial of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan and three other former senior officials Armen Gevorgyan, Seyran Ohanyan and Yuri Khachaturov started on Friday.

The last hearing in the case presided over by judge Anna Danibekyan was held two months ago.

All the four defendants are present at today’s court hearing. Most of the attendees are wearing face masks. The judge said that those not participating in the trial are not allowed to enter the courtroom due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hayk Alumyan, a member of Kocharyan’s defense team, filed a motion to the court to release his client from custody upon personal guarantees.

As reported earlier, former Armenian Prime Ministers Vazgen Manukyan, Khosrov Harutyunyan and Karen Karapetyan, as well as former Artsakh Prime Minister Anushavan Danielyan expressed readiness to appear in court and offer personal guarantees for Kocharyan’s release.

The court was expected to hear the motion on March 17, however the hearing was postponed as Danibekyan had submitted a sick leave medical certificate earlier on March 13, which was to expire on April 16. She returned to work on April 17, but took another leave on the next day.

The defense lawyers filed another motion to release Robert Kocharyan on bail nearly a month ago.