Sedrak Kocharyan, the son of Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan, has filed a lawsuit against the Republic of Armenia, represented by the Prosecutor General’s Office, accusing the state of violating his right to be presumed innocent and seeking 2 million drams in non-material damages.
According to his attorney, Hayk Alumyan, such claims are rare in Armenian legal practice despite frequent violations.
Kocharyan is currently on trial, charged with aiding former President Serzh Sargsyan in engaging in prohibited business activity and receiving a large bribe, while acting through his co-founded company, LL Bimbo LLC. Prosecutors also allege he attempted to launder the illicit funds by transferring, managing, and using them to acquire property, Hetq reports.
The lawsuit claims that a prosecutor, who both oversaw the pre-trial phase and now acts as the state’s representative in court, gave a televised interview during which he presented Kocharyan’s guilt as established fact. “Instead of saying ‘we accuse him,’ he stated that Kocharyan committed these crimes as if it had already been proven by court,” Alumyan said, calling it a textbook example of violating the presumption of innocence.
He emphasized that while such violations are widespread, victims rarely pursue legal remedies. “If even one in ten of these cases were brought to court and compensation demanded, this practice would have ended long ago,” he stated.
The lawsuit was filed on October 3, 2025, and assigned to Judge Yerem Yesoyan. A decision on whether the court will admit the case into proceedings is still pending.
