As we have already informed, the trial of the ANC activists took place in the Court of Criminal Appeals today. It was rather heated. Judge Armen Danielyan regularly engaged in arguments with the ANC activists.
“Gevorgyan, are you chewing a gum? Take it out immediately, if you are!” the judge said to defendant Sargis Gevorgyan. In response, Gevorgyan said that one shouldn’t give him lessons of ethics, “I don’t speak to you, chewing a gum, Your Honor, it would be better, if you didn’t talk to us with your anti-esthetic expression.” The judge called using that language in court impudence. Defendant Tigran Arakelyan intervened, saying: “Don’t speak with your fingers, it is not right, it is not polite.” Judge Danielyan urged, “Arakelyan, don’t talk without permission!”
The next argument broke out when one of the ANC activists asked the judge to speak louder – the judge would read all the decisions on the motions made by the defendants’ counselors so softly that one couldn’t hear them. “Who speaks? Take him out of the courtroom,” the judge said. This decision was objected by counselor V. Grigoryan: “Your Honor, Judge Araghamanyan, a member of the court, spoke without your permission during the session and quite loudly. I object to your actions. If you require respect for the court of everyone, a member of the court is the first person to show that respect.” Judge Danielyan urged him to sit down and speak when he was asked.
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“Is this Q&A? Let me ask you this – have you received a hairdressing education? Restrain the person next to you and then address the court. This is not a courtroom, this is a skating rink, Your Honor,” T. Arakelyan interfered. The judge asked his question again “Who was speaker? Please, go out!” “Bring a fortuneteller,” one of the people sitting in the courtroom said.
After denying all the motions made by the activists’ counselors, the people sitting in the courtroom got angry and T. Arakelyan said that denying the motions, the criminal case was heading in a different direction.
Activists interfered “You are sold out,” “You are Serzh’s stooges” and started to shame. The judge retired giving 5 minutes to ensure discipline in the courtroom; he returned and gave another 5 minutes for discipline. He asked accused Davit Kiramijyan to leave, the latter left, shouting “Don’t shout” and kicking the table, benches and door. The argument ended outside the courthouse. Police officers pushed activist women of the ANC out of the courthouse and one of the police officers pushed one of the ANC activists over.
After the court session, counselor Stepan Voskanyan called the court session a disgrace: “The court decided to end the court session from the beginning. It didn’t matter whether there were counselors and defendants or not. The court session took place without the counselors, defendants Davit Kiramijyan, Sargis Gevorgyan and Tigran Arakelyan. The defense was deprived of the right to make a defense speech; defendants were deprived of the possibility to make their last pleas.” In his words, the counselors’ motion of recusal was denied groundlessly, “The stage of pleadings took place during artificial recesses, which aimed at ending the court session quickly, using that noise and mess. I didn’t even hear when the decision will be made public.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
