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Akbar Novruz

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Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has filed a lawsuit against the country's Central Electoral Commission (CEC), seeking to overturn its decision to revoke his parliamentary immunity amid an ongoing criminal investigation, AzerNEWS reports.

The lawsuit was submitted on June 19, two days after the CEC approved a request from prosecutors to initiate criminal proceedings against Kocharyan, who leads the Armenia Alliance. The case is scheduled to be heard by the Administrative Court on June 24.

Kocharyan's legal team argues that the statute of limitations for the alleged offenses has expired and maintains that the former president has committed no wrongdoing.

The court has also ruled that Armenia's Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia should participate in the proceedings as a third party, citing legal provisions requiring the involvement of institutions directly affected by a court ruling.

Prosecutors are expected to charge Kocharyan with abuse of official authority and money laundering in connection with a 2004 transaction. The case gained public attention after authorities reportedly prevented him from leaving Armenia earlier this month.

In an interview broadcast on June 19, Kocharyan dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

"They rushed to fabricate a case in just two days, because three days earlier, in response to media inquiries, there were no criminal cases against me. Then, a day later, it turned out that such a case already existed," he said.

The legal dispute comes amid heightened political tensions in Armenia following the June parliamentary elections, with opposition groups increasingly challenging government actions and electoral outcomes through both political and judicial channels.