May 20, 2019 - 10:25 AMT
Demonstrators block access to courts across Armenia

Demonstrators have blocked entrances to all the courts in Armenia since early Monday, May 20 morning after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan urged them to take to the streets again in a live message on Sunday.

The Prime Minister is expected to address the nation at noon.

Pashinyan’s call for blocking the court entrances came after a judge ordered the release of Second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan from prison as an investigation into a criminal case over an 11-year crackdown continues in the country.

Kocharyan, who was the President of Armenia in 1998–2008, is accused of overthrowing the constitutional order and money laundering.

The first case is related to the crackdown on civilians who were protesting the results of the presidential election in March 2008. At the time, ten people were killed in clashes between protesters and the police, about 200 were injured.

Kocharyan was first arrested and released in summer of 2018, but was incarcerated again on December 7 of that year.

Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) President Bako Sahakyan and his predecessor Arkadi Ghukasyan had submitted a motion to the court, guaranteeing that Kocharyan, when freed, will not hinder the investigation of the case and will not refrain from appearing in court.