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Heritage Party Headquarters Still Under Lock: Court Case Delayed

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  • Heritage Party Headquarters Still Under Lock: Court Case Delayed

    PRESS RELEASE
    The Heritage Party
    7 Vazgen Sargsian Street
    Yerevan 0010, Armenia
    Tel.: (+374 - 10) 58.08.77, 52.22.38
    Fax: (+374 - 10) 54.38.97
    Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
    Website: www.heritage.am


    May 22, 2006


    Heritage Party Headquarters Still Under Lock: Court Case Delayed


    Yerevan--Heritage Party Chairman Raffi K. Hovannisian's legal claim against
    the administration of the Paronian Theater was heard on May 19 at the Court
    of First Instance of Yerevan's Central and Nork-Marash communities. The
    hearing was presided over by Judge Edward Avetisian.

    The events leading to Hovannisian's petition began on March 4, 2006, when
    party representatives witnessed the unlawful replacement, without prior
    notice, of the already-smashed lock of the outside door to the party's main
    office, whose space, located at 7 Vazgen Sargsian Street, Raffi Hovannisian
    has leased since 1994. The lock was replaced by the chief engineer and two
    members from the auxiliary staff of the theater. In the meantime, the entire
    process was supervised by two unknown men who were sitting in a nearby car.
    The very same day, the theater's administration assumed responsibility for
    this act and concealed its true architects. Since then, the party's seal and
    documents necessary for normal operations, as well as personal and family
    belongings of Hovannisian and his staff, are kept under the control of the
    theater's management. Hovannisian had sent a communiqué to Armenia's
    Attorney General Aghvan Hovsepian and Police Chief Haik Harutiunian in
    regard to the unlawful operation carried out against the office and formally
    requested that they give an imperative legal assessment of what had occurred
    and bring those responsible to justice. They, however, sent a reply stating
    that the dispute between Hovannisian and the administration of the theater
    is a civil disagreement and thus must be resolved by the courts.

    An official claim was filed on April 11 at the Center-Nork Marash Court
    against the Paronian Theater's management wherein it was demanded that the
    infringement upon the right of control and usage of property be lifted. In
    order to prohibit the taking of certain actions by the theater's management
    against the property under its control, the plaintiff simultaneously
    submitted a petition to restore the right of access to the belongings of
    Raffi Hovannisian and the Heritage Party. The court ruled in favor of this
    petition, and the order was forwarded to the Service for Mandatory Execution
    of Judicial Acts at the Ministry of Justice. However, in an unprecedented
    action that lacked clear explanation, this body returned the petition and
    the order back to the Court. On May 19, Judge Avetisian sent the same ruling
    to the aforementioned service a second time.

    On May 19, the first hearing of the case opened in the absence of the
    defendant, which had not presented a formal request for the continuance of
    the trial. It had instead previously informed the court of its position that
    the lease signed between the theater administration and the tenant was not
    officially notarized and consequently void, and so the petition is
    unsubstantiated and subject to dismissal. This "objection" by the defendant
    became grounds for Vahan Grigorian, Raffi Hovannisian's attorney to submit,
    by way of introducing relevant evidence, a request for making additional
    claims, in particular those which derive under the law by consequence of
    nullification of contracts. The Court, taking all submissions into account,
    adjourned and set a new hearing on June 1.

    Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
    central headquarters are located at 7 Vazgen Sargsian Street, Yerevan
    375010, Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 580.877, fax at (374-10)
    543.897, and email at [email protected]
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