YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Former Armenian President Robert Kocharian has been charged in connection with the violent breakup of a 2008 protest in which at least eight people died.
Armenia’s Special Investigative Service said Kocharian was charged on Thursday with breaching the country’s constitutional order,
The demonstrators violently dispersed by soldiers and police were protesting alleged fraud in a presidential election held two weeks earlier. Term limits prevented Kocharian from running, but the candidate he supported - Serzh Sargsyan - was declared the winner despite complaints of vote-buying and ballot-stuffing.
Sargsyan held Armenia’s presidency for 10 years before he transitioned to the office of prime minister this year under reforms that made the premiership more powerful. He stepped down after six days of massive protests over his appointment as prime minister.
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