Armenian court orders ex-President Kocharyan held for two months

YEREVAN, Armenia — A court in Armenia ordered former President Robert Kocharyan to remain in custody for two months as he faces corruption charges, the Russian Sputnik news agency reported. The ruling came after Kocharyan and his son Sedrak Kocharyan were detained in the capital, Yerevan. According to Sputnik, Anti-Corruption Commission spokeswoman Marina Ohanyan said the court had ruled that Kocharyan would be tried in detention. He faces charges of abuse of power, accepting bribes and money laundering. The investigation covers Kocharyan, who served as president from 1998 to 2008, along with eight others, including former President Serzh Sargsyan, late Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan, who died in 2007, and former Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglaryan. Kocharyan's lawyer, Aram Orbelyan, said the probe centers on real estate transactions from 2004 to 2009 and that his client had no connection to those dealings.