Armenian ex-president Kocharyan charged with corruption in crackdown on government critics
Robert Kocharyan / AFP-Yonhap
State prosecutors in Armenia on Tuesday detained Robert Kocharyan, a prominent opposition leader and a former president, and formally charged him with a slew of corruption-related offences during his time in office.
Armenia's prosecutor general said in a statement that Kocharyan, who served as president from 1998 to 2008, had used his then-official position to transfer state-owned property to himself and his associates at "advantageous terms," and to conceal the "criminal origin" of that property.
It was not immediately clear how Kocharyan, who has criticised the government for moving away from traditional ally Russia, responded to the accusations, though he has previously denied any wrongdoing during his time in office.
Aram Orbelyan, a lawyer for Kocharyan, was not in an immediate position to reply to a request for comment.
Since winning reelection in June, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pursued what his critics view as a wide-ranging crackdown on his fiercest opponents, including opposition politicians, church leaders and civil society groups.
The head of Armenia's church is currently on trial in a case the church maintains is politicized, while two other leading opposition figures, Gagik Tsarukyan and Samvel Karapetyan, are being held in pre-trial detention and under house arrest, respectively, ahead of pending trials.