The appellate court did not fix the mistake

The well-known fighter and oppositionist is still in custody

 Yesterday, the Court of Appeals denied the Armenian National Congress representative, well-known fighter, world champion, twice European champion and multiple world champion Samson Khachatryan’s counselor’s petition leaving the decision of the Kentron (center) and Nork-Marash district court of first instance condemning S. Khachatryan to three-month custody in power. I shall remind that the judge of the court of first instance presided at a lot of processes concerning March 1 events Mnatsakan Martirosyan reasoned that decision that the fighter would not obstruct the preliminary investigation. Back then, S. Khachatryan’s counselor Ara Zakaryan seriously doubted the impartiality of the court’s decision stating that the decision was made with gross infringements and doubtful partiality. As an argument, the counselor during the conversation with RFE (Radio Free Europe) pointed out that even though the investigator stated that it is necessary to conduct many investigative and processual actions, however, after the court’s decision, the preliminary investigation lasted only three days and the case was sent to court. “To wit it provided the court with obviously false information, and the court took the investigators sayings as an undoubted truth”, stated A. Zakaryan.

However, the court in S. Khachatryan’s case, as in the cases of other political prisoners, conducted once again not the justice, but just made a political decision acting only upon the governmental logic of vengeance and compulsory punishing the dissident. The fighter’s counselor intends to turn to the Supreme Court to dispute this time the decision of the Court of Appeals.

I shall remind you that Khachatryan is accused of as if not obeying the demands of the governmental representative and using violence against him during the March 1 rally organized by the ANC. He was arrested 10 days after the above-mentioned event.

As early as before the end of the arrest term of S. Khachatryan he was visited by MPs of the RA Viktor Dallakyan and Heritage representatives Zarouhi Postanjyan Armen Martirosyan and Stepan Safaryan. After taking S. Khachatryan into custody V. Dallakyan stated that sa an MP in the framework of hisauthority he will try to assist his compatriot and friend, will mediate a change of his measure of restraint.

Yesterday during the conversation with “Aravot” V. Dallakyan firstly negatively assessed the decision of the appellate court, “I think that S. Khachatryan should not be treated like that considering his human, sports and political qualities. The isolation ward is not a place for S. Khachatryan. By the way, it turned out that Dallakyan had visited his compatriot a few days before. Reflecting on his earlier made promise, he said that they agreed with the Heritage Party MPs that they would mediate the preliminary investigation organs to set Khachatryan free. “Although I think that it is obvious that that mediation will have no effect because of well-known reasons”, added V. Dallakyan. The Heritage Party MP S. Safaryan said that the faction MPs had decided to prepare and to hand the mediation to S. Khachatryan’s counselor before the trial at the court of first instance. The latter suggested in the mediation to set the fighter free in return to the bail guaranteeing that he would not evade the preliminary investigation. However, as it turned out, it was aimless. S. Safaryan during the conversation with me condemned the decision of the appellate court a day earlier and, moreover, stated, “As the international organizations have recorded mass use of taking into custody as a measure of restraint in Armenia and it is being done to use different methods to get some testimonies under psychological pressure. It is also clear that in Armenia custody is used not for conducting justice, but as a punishment.”

A few days ago, the president of the Armenian Olympic Committee, the PAP leader Gagik Tsarukian discussed with Serzh Sargsyan the fighter’s case. He had stated earlier that he was ready to mediate in order there is a milder treatment towards Khachatryan. It turned out, however, that his mediation was not accepted either at the appellate court, probably because punishing S. Khachatryan is a political decision. During the conversation with “Aravot” the PAP press secretary Khachik Galstyan said that it did not mean anything and voiced a hope that that mediation would no doubt produce a result.

I shall only add that Khachatryan has health problems – four months ago, he underwent a cardiac surgery, and he should have been recovering now.