The slander case brought by former RA President Robert Kocharyan against the newspaper Hraparak began today at the Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Court in Yerevan.

The former president is suing the paper over articles it published back in February and March. He’s demanding a full retraction and 6 million AMD in compensation, of which 3 million is for legal fees incurred.

At today’s session, Hraparak attorney Ara Zohrabyan argues that the suit wasn’t correctly filed and that no documentary evidence has been provided by the plaintiff as to legal fees.

Kocharyan’s lawyer, Arpineh Melikbegyan, said the oversight was due to time constraints and requested a recess to get the documentation in order.

Attorney Zohrabyan argued that the entire case be thrown out since it was never presented within the time frame allowed. He warned that the defence would present more damning evidence of procedural infractions if the court decided not to review the matter.

The next trial date has not been made public.