Pashinyan Not Allowed to Attend His Hearing in Constitutional Court

At the Court of Appeal today, Nikol Pashinyan’s attorneys made a motion for the appeal case to be postponed till after March 11, when the Constitutional Court will have made its decision on Pashinyan’s claim to annul the results of the No. 10 electoral district elections.

The judge said that it can’t sustain the motion since it hasn’t received a corresponding claim from the Constitutional Court. Pashinyan said that he is categorically against his representatives presenting his appeal in his absence.

When the judge stated that he wasn’t going to sustain the motion, a discontented murmur rose in the courtroom. One woman shouted from her seat, “Bribe-takers! I know you!” after which she was promptly removed from the courtroom. One man shouted, “You don’t want to hear the truth!” after which he too was dismissed from the room.

While Pashinyan was speaking, our correspondent noted that the judge was constantly interrupting him, demanding he speak in point of fact, on the substance of the matter at hand. Afterwards, Pashinyan asked for a 20-minute recess so that he may confer with his attorneys. The court granted his plea, in part — allowing for a 10-minute recess.