The case of three out of seven will enter the court

And the court decision on three ANC activists will be made after the upcoming Congress rally

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case of the 3 out of 7 Armenian National Congress activists, Tigran Arakelyan, Sargis Gevorgyan and Artak Karapetyan who were brought in and were treated violently for as if using violence against the police officers and engaging in hooliganism on August 9 evening, on Teryan Street and were arrested afterwards was conducted in very short period of time, within only 18 days. Now the case material is provided to the counselors to examine. Only four days, till September 4, were given to three ANC activists’ counselors to examine the four-volume criminal case and to present possible petitions and make objections, and the counselors’ request to give them 30 days for examining those was rejected. Yesterday the counselors had already made an objection to the Attorney General of the Republic of Armenia. Yesterday Stepan Voskanyan, one of the counselors, informed “Aravot” about that. The counselors claim that the term given to them is not enough to appropriately prepare for the trial, “A quick preliminary investigation was conducted; it only lasted 18 days. They managed to prepare a case for 18 days and they give only 4 days’ time to examine all those materials, basically limiting the abilities of the defense to thoroughly examine the case materials, in order that we may be able to present appropriate petitions. I.e. the case will enter the court unprepared”, said counselor Voskanyan. The counselors expect to get a response in the form of rejection or sustainment to their objection made to the Attorney General on the upcoming days, till September 4, which is the deadline they gave. The whole problem is, however, that according to “Aravot’s” information, the indictment is already on the attorney’s table and it will be superscribed-approved today. If it is really so, it means that the attorney’s office has decided in advance to deny counselors’ every objection or petition, because it is ordered to quickly hand the case to the court and conduct a quick trial. This assumption was reaffirmed by the information of our source in the police that the trial will last 3-4 days and there will be a suspended sentence. Our information – in order to overcome the only obstacle that impedes quick restart of the dialogue between the Congress and the authorities suspended because of arrested Tigran Arakelyan, the investigation organ discussed the matter of assigning a forensic examination for Tigran Arakelyan and finding him non compos mentis at the time of the crime, but it was not approved on the top level – seems also reliable.
As to the fate of other activists of the ANC who were released, Areg Gevorgyan, Sahak Muradyan, Davit Kiramijyan and Vahagn Gevorgyan, and who were also charged with the above-mentioned articles of the Criminal Code, according to counselor Stepan Voskanyan, their case was separated and its preliminary investigation is in progress. In response to our question how it had happened that in the framework of the same case the case of 3 had already been sent to the court and as to the 4th there had been a necessity to actually continue the investigation, Mr. Voskanyan said that the preliminary investigation organ had found out while assessing and examining the proofs on the case of three that their actions already included the charges brought against them and they had thought the case concerning them was over. As to the others it is possible that the charges will be reassessed and the trial will be suspended. We also asked the counselor whether he saw any political implication in quickly sending the case of three activists to the court; S. Voskanyan said, “There might be such implication, but I don’t want to connect it to certain political resolutions. On the other side from the legal perspective if they managed to finish the preliminary investigation of such a big case in very short period of time, 18 days, and they try to send it to the court – usually preliminary investigation lasts at least two months – it raises assumptions and doubts.”
However, whatever political decision is made on this case and punched by the court, as head of the legal panel of the ANC Gagik Jhangiryan likes to say in such cases, still the issue of the authorities is to release in the same way as they have arrested.