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MAN FACING JAIL FOR 'ILLEGAL' BID TO ENTER U.S.
By Karine Kalantarian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Jan 8 2007
A Syrian national of Armenian descent will go on trial in Yerevan
Tuesday on charges of attempting to enter the United States with a
fake Armenian passport and other forged documents.
The man, identified by law-enforcement authorities as Bedros Garabed,
was arrested and charged with fraud after allegedly submitting them
to the U.S. consulate in Yerevan last August. Also facing prosecution
are six citizens of Armenia who are accused of helping him obtain
the documents. Two of them are also kept in pre-trial detention.
Law-enforcement sources divulged some details of the case to RFE/RL
on Monday, saying that Garabed had been expelled from the U.S. and
sought to re-enter the country as an Armenian citizen. They said the
forged papers included a bogus bank account as well as marriage and
birth, marriage and property ownership certificates.
Garabed also falsely claimed to be affiliated with the Armenian
Ecological Fund, a non-governmental organization, they said. The
chairman of the fund, Armenak Dovlatian, will also face trial for
certifying that with a relevant statement.
It was not immediately clear whether Armenia's Office of the
Prosecutor-General was informed of the alleged forgery by U.S. consular
officials in Yerevan.
Garabed's defense lawyer, Robert Grigorian, said his client, who
is a doctor by training, will plead guilty to only one of the two
accusations levelled against him. "He had no participation in the
creation and production of any forged documents," Grigorian told
RFE/RL. "He only ordered them."
"He was told that there is a positive attitude towards Armenia in the
United States, that Armenian citizens are not suspected of terrorism
there, and that he will find it easier to get a U.S. visa as an
Armenian citizen," added the lawyer.
By Karine Kalantarian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Jan 8 2007
A Syrian national of Armenian descent will go on trial in Yerevan
Tuesday on charges of attempting to enter the United States with a
fake Armenian passport and other forged documents.
The man, identified by law-enforcement authorities as Bedros Garabed,
was arrested and charged with fraud after allegedly submitting them
to the U.S. consulate in Yerevan last August. Also facing prosecution
are six citizens of Armenia who are accused of helping him obtain
the documents. Two of them are also kept in pre-trial detention.
Law-enforcement sources divulged some details of the case to RFE/RL
on Monday, saying that Garabed had been expelled from the U.S. and
sought to re-enter the country as an Armenian citizen. They said the
forged papers included a bogus bank account as well as marriage and
birth, marriage and property ownership certificates.
Garabed also falsely claimed to be affiliated with the Armenian
Ecological Fund, a non-governmental organization, they said. The
chairman of the fund, Armenak Dovlatian, will also face trial for
certifying that with a relevant statement.
It was not immediately clear whether Armenia's Office of the
Prosecutor-General was informed of the alleged forgery by U.S. consular
officials in Yerevan.
Garabed's defense lawyer, Robert Grigorian, said his client, who
is a doctor by training, will plead guilty to only one of the two
accusations levelled against him. "He had no participation in the
creation and production of any forged documents," Grigorian told
RFE/RL. "He only ordered them."
"He was told that there is a positive attitude towards Armenia in the
United States, that Armenian citizens are not suspected of terrorism
there, and that he will find it easier to get a U.S. visa as an
Armenian citizen," added the lawyer.