PRESS RELEASE
Yerkir Union
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Robert Tatoyan:
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26 August 2009


Georgian Authorities are continuously and deliberately Strengthening
Pressure on Javakheti Armenian Political Activist Vahagn Chakhalyan


The Javakheti Armenian political activist Vahagn Chakhalyan, who had
been transferred from Gldani prison ¡í8 of Tbilisi to the colony of
general regime ¡í2 of Rustavi on July 31 of this year, was again
transferred on August 21, this time - to the colony of strict regime
¡í6 of the same town.

¡°Yerkir¡± union declares that by transferring the Javakheti political
activist to the establishment, where the convicts are serving their
sentence for having committed grave and especially grave crimes, the
Georgian authorities, instead of ensuring the safety of Vahagn
Chakhalyan, are deliberately subjecting him to an even bigger danger.

By this step, aimed at strengthening both direct and indirect prison
pressure on Vahagn Chakhalyan, the Georgian authorities also hope to
break the determination of the latter to continue the struggle in
Court, since the completely fabricated nature of the criminal case
becomes more and more apparent in course of the trial.

Taking into account the above-stated situation, ¡°Yerkir¡± union calls
upon the Georgian authorities to stop immediately exerting pressure on
Vahagn Chakhalyan and to guarantee his safety by transferring him to
the initial place of detention at the Gldani prison of ¡í8 up to the
end of the entire process of appeal (including the higher courts).

¡°Yerkir¡± Union calls on the Public Defender of Georgia Sozar Subari,
the international human rights organizations, and accredited
diplomatic missions in Georgia to undertake effective measures and to
immediately stop this new round of pressure exerted by the Georgian
authorities on Javakheti political activist and to guarantee his
safety.