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The Trials of Javakheti Armenian Political Activists Started | |
The Trials of Javakheti Armenian Political Activists Vahagn Chakhalyan and Gourgen Shirinyan Started
The separate trials of the two Armenian political activists Vahagn Chakhalyan and Gourgen Shirinyan and of some members of their respective families –the father Rouben and the under-age brother Armen from the Chakhalyans and the father Haroutiyun and the aunt Karine from the Shirinyans-, all of them from the Javakheti region, started on November 6, 2008 in Akhaltskha, the regional center of the Samtskhe-Javakheti province of Georgia.
Members of the “Yerkir” Union were present at the trials to monitor the court hearings. Their reports underlined the following points:
1. The trial of Gourgen Shirinyan who is accused of a certain number of serious offenses -possession of fire-arms, attempted murder and murder, is taking place in his absence. Where as there is no absolute prohibition of trials “in absentia” under international law, the latter does not reflect the concept of a fair trial defined by the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as it contradicts some of its essential dispositions such as the right to adequately prepare for defence, to communicate with counsel of choice, and to examine witnesses (Art. 14).
2. The defense of Gourgen’s interests was initially undertaken by a state-appointed lawyer, who, during the whole session of the court proceedings kept silent and did not even question the witnesses. On the second day of the trial (November 7) Shirinian’s relatives asked Zurab Rostiashvili, the lawyer defending the interests of the father and of the aunt of Gourgen, to assume the latter’s case too.
3. In relation to Gourgen’s case, Haroutyun and Karine Shirinyan are accused on the bases of Article 236, paragraph 1, article 370 and Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The first one prohibits the purchase, possession, carrying, production, shipment, transfer or sale of weapons. The second article prohibits giving false evidence, while the third one prohibits the non-reporting of a crime. It must be noted that even if Gourgen is found guilty, in his case, the last 2 accusations still contradict an essential norm of basic human rights which has been taken up in the Georgian Constitution itself and which states that “No one shall be obliged to testify against himself/herself or against those relatives whose circle shall be determined by law” (Constitution of Georgia, Article 42, paragraph 8).
4. Vahagn Chakhalyan, his father and under-age brother are accused on the basis of paragraph 1 of Article 236 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Georgia which prohibits the illicit purchase and possession of fire-arms and ammunition, which were “discovered” during the search by police special forces. The members of Chakhalyan family assert adamantly that the “discovered” guns, were planted into their house by the Georgian special forces themselves In addition, Vahagn Chakhalyan is also accused on the bases of paragraph 1 of Article 225, Article 226, paragraph 2 of Article 353, and clause A and B of paragraph 2 of article 239. The first one prohibits the “Organizing or leading of mass disorder which involves violence, pogrom, arson, use of arms or explosive devices or armed resistance against government representative” (paragraph 1 of Article 225); the 2nd prohibits the “organizing of the group actions which grossly disrupts public order” (Article 226); the 3rd disposition of the law prohibits “resistance to police officer or any other government representative perpetrated by a prior consent of a group to impede the protection of public order” (paragraph 2 of Article 353); while the 4th prohibits “hooliganism (…)” perpetrated: “a) by a group’s conspiracy; b) against a government representative or a person preventing hooliganism” (clause A and B of paragraph 2 of article 239), both clauses of the given article being used in Vahagn’s case. It must be noted that many of the charges against the latter are directed against his activities as an Armenian political activist and an organizer of the civil protests which took place in March, June and especially in October 2006, following local elections of self-governing bodies.
5. The journalists present at the court hearings were prohibited to make recordings, take photos and films and even notes.
6. Another negative aspect of the trials is the fact that these were held in Georgian. As such, witnesses who know both Armenian and Georgian were forced to speak in Georgian. There was only a single translator provided by the court, and the quality of his translation was very poor. As none of the accused persons speaks Georgian, their ability to follow the hearings and to track contradictions or weaknesses in the provided evidences and testimonies was considerably reduced. This clearly shows the vital importance of the implementation of recommendations directed to Georgia by relevant international organizations to allow the use of minority languages at the local level in court proceedings and government administrations.
7. The Shirinyan trial started at 12 am and ended at 7 pm. There were breaks during the court session. On the first day three witnesses were interrogated. One of them, the father of the killed policeman, declared that he was not sure that the crime had been committed by Gourgen Shirinyan. He also expressed doubts concerning the impartiality of preliminary police investigations. The Shirinyan trial continued on November 7, 2008. It was however postponed until November 19 by a motion of the prosecutor.
8. Chakhalyan’s trial started at 3 pm. In the very beginning, Stepan Voskanyan, the lawyer of the Chakhalyan family submitted to the court a motion proposing the transfer of the case to the Akhalkalaki court. The motion was explained by the fact that both the accused persons and the witnesses were from the town of Akhalkalaki located in the district bearing the same name, while on the other hand, the alleged offences on trial took also place in Akhalkalaki. In his motion, the Armenian lawyer pinpointed in addition to the fact that holding the trial in Akhaltsikhe, which is about 70 km away from Akhalkalaki, artificially hampers the proceedings of the court. Mrs. Tsira Maysuradze, the judge, denied however the motion stating that the decision to carry out court hearings in Akhaltsikhe had been taken by the court of appeal of Tbilissi, and added that she had no authority to refuse it.
9. The lawyer submitted then another motion proposing the release on bail of the under-aged juvenile Armen Chakhalyan. The translator, however, who already had obvious difficulties with his task, stated that due to a lack of knowledge, he was unable to complete the required translation. In order to keep the trial going on without interruption, the lawyer proposed then to the court to allow one of his assistants present in the courtroom to do the required translation, but the judge rejected the proposal asserting that the court would find itself the required translator, and postponed the proceedings without fixing the date of the next session of the trial.
The abovementioned facts once again testify that all accusations against Vahagn Chakhalyan and Gourgen Shirinyan and of some members of their families are false and fabricated and are the result of political arrangement.
The Union “Yerkir” calls again the Georgian authorities:
1. To withdraw all politically motivated pursuits against Vahagn Chakhalyan, Gourgen Shirinyan and members of their respective families,
2. To cease all political and economic persecutions against the Chakhalyan and Shirinyan families, and against other Armenian political activists as well, and finally
3. To hold a fair and impartial investigation of the Akhalkalaki events preceding Chakhalyan’s arrest, particularly in relation with the case of the assassination of the two Armenian policemen.
The “Yerkir” Union calls the Chakhalyan and Shirinyan trials to the attentions of the Ombudsman of Georgia, of the appropriate international structures, and of the concerned international human rights’ organizations, urging them with insistence:
1. To follow closely the proceedings of the trials, especially in the case of Gourgen Shirinyan who is tried “in absentia”, and
2. To recognize all the persons on trial as political prisoners and to ensure that the Georgian government respects the rights of the Chakhalian and Shirinian families to fair and impartial trials.
November 10, 2008
The separate trials of the two Armenian political activists Vahagn Chakhalyan and Gourgen Shirinyan and of some members of their respective families –the father Rouben and the under-age brother Armen from the Chakhalyans and the father Haroutiyun and the aunt Karine from the Shirinyans-, all of them from the Javakheti region, started on November 6, 2008 in Akhaltskha, the regional center of the Samtskhe-Javakheti province of Georgia.
Members of the “Yerkir” Union were present at the trials to monitor the court hearings. Their reports underlined the following points:
1. The trial of Gourgen Shirinyan who is accused of a certain number of serious offenses -possession of fire-arms, attempted murder and murder, is taking place in his absence. Where as there is no absolute prohibition of trials “in absentia” under international law, the latter does not reflect the concept of a fair trial defined by the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as it contradicts some of its essential dispositions such as the right to adequately prepare for defence, to communicate with counsel of choice, and to examine witnesses (Art. 14).
2. The defense of Gourgen’s interests was initially undertaken by a state-appointed lawyer, who, during the whole session of the court proceedings kept silent and did not even question the witnesses. On the second day of the trial (November 7) Shirinian’s relatives asked Zurab Rostiashvili, the lawyer defending the interests of the father and of the aunt of Gourgen, to assume the latter’s case too.
3. In relation to Gourgen’s case, Haroutyun and Karine Shirinyan are accused on the bases of Article 236, paragraph 1, article 370 and Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The first one prohibits the purchase, possession, carrying, production, shipment, transfer or sale of weapons. The second article prohibits giving false evidence, while the third one prohibits the non-reporting of a crime. It must be noted that even if Gourgen is found guilty, in his case, the last 2 accusations still contradict an essential norm of basic human rights which has been taken up in the Georgian Constitution itself and which states that “No one shall be obliged to testify against himself/herself or against those relatives whose circle shall be determined by law” (Constitution of Georgia, Article 42, paragraph 8).
4. Vahagn Chakhalyan, his father and under-age brother are accused on the basis of paragraph 1 of Article 236 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Georgia which prohibits the illicit purchase and possession of fire-arms and ammunition, which were “discovered” during the search by police special forces. The members of Chakhalyan family assert adamantly that the “discovered” guns, were planted into their house by the Georgian special forces themselves In addition, Vahagn Chakhalyan is also accused on the bases of paragraph 1 of Article 225, Article 226, paragraph 2 of Article 353, and clause A and B of paragraph 2 of article 239. The first one prohibits the “Organizing or leading of mass disorder which involves violence, pogrom, arson, use of arms or explosive devices or armed resistance against government representative” (paragraph 1 of Article 225); the 2nd prohibits the “organizing of the group actions which grossly disrupts public order” (Article 226); the 3rd disposition of the law prohibits “resistance to police officer or any other government representative perpetrated by a prior consent of a group to impede the protection of public order” (paragraph 2 of Article 353); while the 4th prohibits “hooliganism (…)” perpetrated: “a) by a group’s conspiracy; b) against a government representative or a person preventing hooliganism” (clause A and B of paragraph 2 of article 239), both clauses of the given article being used in Vahagn’s case. It must be noted that many of the charges against the latter are directed against his activities as an Armenian political activist and an organizer of the civil protests which took place in March, June and especially in October 2006, following local elections of self-governing bodies.
5. The journalists present at the court hearings were prohibited to make recordings, take photos and films and even notes.
6. Another negative aspect of the trials is the fact that these were held in Georgian. As such, witnesses who know both Armenian and Georgian were forced to speak in Georgian. There was only a single translator provided by the court, and the quality of his translation was very poor. As none of the accused persons speaks Georgian, their ability to follow the hearings and to track contradictions or weaknesses in the provided evidences and testimonies was considerably reduced. This clearly shows the vital importance of the implementation of recommendations directed to Georgia by relevant international organizations to allow the use of minority languages at the local level in court proceedings and government administrations.
7. The Shirinyan trial started at 12 am and ended at 7 pm. There were breaks during the court session. On the first day three witnesses were interrogated. One of them, the father of the killed policeman, declared that he was not sure that the crime had been committed by Gourgen Shirinyan. He also expressed doubts concerning the impartiality of preliminary police investigations. The Shirinyan trial continued on November 7, 2008. It was however postponed until November 19 by a motion of the prosecutor.
8. Chakhalyan’s trial started at 3 pm. In the very beginning, Stepan Voskanyan, the lawyer of the Chakhalyan family submitted to the court a motion proposing the transfer of the case to the Akhalkalaki court. The motion was explained by the fact that both the accused persons and the witnesses were from the town of Akhalkalaki located in the district bearing the same name, while on the other hand, the alleged offences on trial took also place in Akhalkalaki. In his motion, the Armenian lawyer pinpointed in addition to the fact that holding the trial in Akhaltsikhe, which is about 70 km away from Akhalkalaki, artificially hampers the proceedings of the court. Mrs. Tsira Maysuradze, the judge, denied however the motion stating that the decision to carry out court hearings in Akhaltsikhe had been taken by the court of appeal of Tbilissi, and added that she had no authority to refuse it.
9. The lawyer submitted then another motion proposing the release on bail of the under-aged juvenile Armen Chakhalyan. The translator, however, who already had obvious difficulties with his task, stated that due to a lack of knowledge, he was unable to complete the required translation. In order to keep the trial going on without interruption, the lawyer proposed then to the court to allow one of his assistants present in the courtroom to do the required translation, but the judge rejected the proposal asserting that the court would find itself the required translator, and postponed the proceedings without fixing the date of the next session of the trial.
The abovementioned facts once again testify that all accusations against Vahagn Chakhalyan and Gourgen Shirinyan and of some members of their families are false and fabricated and are the result of political arrangement.
The Union “Yerkir” calls again the Georgian authorities:
1. To withdraw all politically motivated pursuits against Vahagn Chakhalyan, Gourgen Shirinyan and members of their respective families,
2. To cease all political and economic persecutions against the Chakhalyan and Shirinyan families, and against other Armenian political activists as well, and finally
3. To hold a fair and impartial investigation of the Akhalkalaki events preceding Chakhalyan’s arrest, particularly in relation with the case of the assassination of the two Armenian policemen.
The “Yerkir” Union calls the Chakhalyan and Shirinyan trials to the attentions of the Ombudsman of Georgia, of the appropriate international structures, and of the concerned international human rights’ organizations, urging them with insistence:
1. To follow closely the proceedings of the trials, especially in the case of Gourgen Shirinyan who is tried “in absentia”, and
2. To recognize all the persons on trial as political prisoners and to ensure that the Georgian government respects the rights of the Chakhalian and Shirinian families to fair and impartial trials.
November 10, 2008
