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Javakhet Activist Vahagn Chakhalyan Case at Georgia Court of Appeals

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  • Javakhet Activist Vahagn Chakhalyan Case at Georgia Court of Appeals

    "YERKIR" UNION OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR REPATRIATION AND
    SETTLEMENT

    Press-release
    Contact: Robert Tatoyan
    Mobile: +(374 94) 36 17 93
    E-mail: [email protected]

    July 27, 2009
    Yerevan, Armenia

    THE COURT OF APPEAL OF GEORGIA HELD ITS FIRST HEARING ON THE JAVAKHETI
    POLITICAL ACTIVIST VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN'S CASE

    On July 22, 2009 the department of the criminal cases of the Court of Appeal
    of Georgia held its first hearing on the appeal against the sentence of
    Vahagn Chakhalyan, Javakheti political activist, his father and younger
    brother.


    The observers of "Yerkir" Union present at the court hearing have recorded
    the following main violations:

    1.. The chairwoman of the Court, Ms. Tamara Alania, manifested an obviously
    biased attitude toward Vahagn Chakhalyan. For example, by the questions that
    she asked him, it was obvious that for her the defendant's guilt had already
    been a proven matter.

    2.. The court rejected nearly all the motions of the defense, including the
    authorization for dictaphone recording for journalists present at the court
    hearing, the appeal to bring to questioning Samvel Petrosyan, chief of
    police of Akhalkalaki district, as well as his son, who are key figures in
    one of the episodes of the case, the request for dactylographic examination
    of weapons allegedly found in the house of Vahagn Chakhalyan and at the
    office of the organization headed by him, etc.

    3.. Tamara Alania, the chairwoman of the Court, did not allow Vahagn
    Chakhalyan to read the statement he had prepared, and even refused to accept
    it and attach to the case (the statement is attached).

    4.. The court hearings in the Court of Appeal take place in the absence of a
    French lawyer Patrick Arapian as in Akhaltsikha court of first instance. The
    Ministry of Justice refused to register him as Vahagn Chakhalyan's defender.
    When Javakheti political activist appealed that decision in court, the
    Georgian authorities changed the law, removing the provision that allowed
    foreign lawyers to provide judicial defense in Georgia.

    5. The translation of court proceedings into the Armenian language was as
    poor as it had been in Akhaltskha Regional Court.

    6.. Under pretence of summer vacations, the court postponed the hearing of
    Chakhalyan's case for two months - till the 18th of September.

    The abovementioned, especially the fact that the Court of Appeal showed
    apparently biased and negative attitude against Vahagn Chakhalyan, once
    again testifies that what was going on in the courtroom has nothing to do
    with justice, but is a legal <ratification> of reprisal over Javakheti
    political activist and members of his family by the Georgian authorities.

    May we take this occasion to remind you that on April 7 the First Instance
    Court found Vahagn Chakhalyan guilty on the basis of paragraph 1 of Article
    236 (acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition), article 226
    (Organizing a group action which grossly disrupts public order), the point
    <b> of the Paragraph 2 of Article 239 (hooliganism, committed: ... against a
    government representative or a person preventing hooliganism) of the
    Criminal Code of Georgia. Javakheti political activist was sentenced to 10
    years of imprisonment.

    Ruben Chakhalyan was found guilty on the basis of paragraph 1 of Article 236
    (acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition) and of paragraph 2
    of Article 225 (participation in mass disorders) and sentenced to a fine of
    5,000 lari (about $3,000). Armen Chakhalyan was found guilty of paragraph 1
    of Article 236 (acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition) and
    sentenced to a fine of 2,000 lari (about $1,200).


    STATEMENT OF JAVAKHETI POLITICAL ACTIVIST VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN WITH RESPECT TO
    THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE HEARING OF THE APPEAL AGAINST HIS CONVICTION IN THE
    COURT OF APPEAL OF GEORGIA

    April 7, 2009: Samtskhet-Javakheti's Ahaltsikha Regional Court of Georgia by
    its shameful verdict concluded the discreditable trial carried out against
    my father, my brother and me.

    In order to bring the case, fabricated by the authorities against my family
    and me, to its logical end, Ahaltsikha court was forced to resort to
    flagrant violations. In particular:

    - Refused to adopt almost all the motions of the defense, including
    the examination of the fingerprints on the weapons that were allegedly found
    in my house and in the office of the organization which I lead;
    - Refused to ensure the presence of all the witnesses in court, as
    well as the request to call for and interrogate the chief of police of
    Akhalkalaki Samvel Petrosyan and his son, who had played an active role in
    one of the episodes of the fabricated case;
    - Did not provide more or less acceptable translation of the court
    proceedings into the Armenian language.

    The authorities conducted the proceedings according to the drawn scenario
    and, in particular, resorted to the following steps:

    - Moved the proceedings to Ahaltsikha, although according to the
    principle of jurisdiction, the case should have been heard in Akhalkalaki;
    - Had been keeping my younger brother under illegal arrest for four
    and a half months;
    - Applied methods of intimidation against my friends and associates;
    - Denied me the service of a French lawyer Patrick Arapian by
    breaking the Law, and when the defense appealed against this decision,
    changed the law itself and removed the provision allowing foreign lawyers to
    provide judicial defense in Georgia.

    All the above-mentioned steps are indisputable evidence that this trial is
    just an ordered judicial clownery, by which the authorities are trying to
    cover up somehow the ongoing political reprisal against me. The falsified
    nature of charges and the absence of evidence can be seen just from the fact
    that even the court, which blindly followed the will of the authorities, in
    its final verdict was forced to abandon some of the charges brought against
    me and to reshape others. Thus, the accusation of <organizing mass
    disturbances> was reformulated as <organization of mass actions violating
    public order>.

    In March of 2009 I wrote an open letter to Mikhail Saakashvili, the
    President of Georgia, in which I called on him to solve the problems facing
    the Armenians of Javakheti through dialogue, but no reply has been received
    so far... Maybe my sentence to 10 years imprisonment, beatings in prison,
    and the change of law for denial of registration of my French lawyer were a
    peculiar response to my open letter?

    However, despite all repressions, I will continue demanding to restore
    justice in my respect.

    I demanded in the past and I demand today to put off the charges and find
    non-guilty my father, my younger brother and me, to stop all repressions
    against my relatives and friends, to stop all criminal cases, to return
    confiscated property, compensate for the damages caused by these illegal
    acts.

    I demanded in the past and demand today from the authorities to cease their
    discriminatory policies in Javakheti and implement realistic and effective
    steps to address the pressing problems of the Javakheti Armenians.

    Today, it is evident for everybody, that the real cause of this trial is my
    activity aimed at protection of the rights of the Javakheti Armenians. Here,
    in this courtroom, in my person the authorities are putting to trial all
    Javakheti Armenian population, showing in practice their disregard not only
    for the rights of national minorities, but also for the basic human rights
    and democratic values in general. The only thing that remains is that the
    authorities themselves find enough strength for clear understanding of this
    fact.

    Tbilisi, 22 July 2009
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