Published since 1951
Published on November 19, 2008
LEADING OPPOSITION MEMBER SENTENCED TO JAIL TERM
- A former government official who actively supported the opposition during last February’s presidential election was on Wednesday found guilty and sentenced to two years in jail on charges stemming from his alleged role in the post-election protests and based solely on police testimony. Smbat Ayvazian, who served as Armenia’s minister of state revenues in the late 1990s and is a senior member of the opposition party, Hanrapetutyun, was arrested on February 25 and subsequently charged with resisting the police and illegally possessing a truncheon. Resisting arrest by violent means is one of the usual charges brought against scores of opposition members arrested before and after the post-election unrest of March 1. Ayvazian, who supported Levon Ter-Petrosian’s presidential election campaign, strongly denied the charges throughout his high-profile trial. He and his defense counsel have denounced the court proceeding as political motivated. In addition to a prison term, the court also set a fine of close to $1,000 to be paid by Ayvazian. The oppositionist’s defense lawyer Hovik Arsenian told RFE/RL that his client is going to appeal, at a higher court, the verdict that find him guilty solely on the basis of police evidence, a practice in Armenia’s March 1-related trials repeatedly condemned by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. In particular, the Strasbourg-based body’s monitoring committee called it “unacceptable” in a statement issued on October 2. The committee also expressed serious concern about the continuing imprisonment of more than 70 opposition members and supporters. The Armenian authorities maintain that none of them is a political prisoner.
- By Karine Kalantarian
Headlines for November 19, 2008
LEADING OPPOSITION MEMBER SENTENCED TO JAIL TERM
By Karine KalantarianA former government official who actively supported the opposition during last February’s presidential election was on Wednesday found guilty and sentenced to two years in jail on charges stemming from ...PARLIAMENT OPPOSITION SET TO ATTEND ‘KARABAKH DISCUSSION’
By Ruzanna Stepanian
The opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party has accepted President Serzh Sarkisian’s invitation to attend a consultation focusing on the Karabakh issue, the party’s board chairperson Anahit Bakhshian ...YEREVAN POLICE REPORT RISE IN CRIME IN 2008
By Lilit HarutiunianA senior Yerevan police official has reported an upsurge in crime in the Armenian capital so far this year as well as a decline in the crime detection rate. Police Colonel Ashot Mirijanian told the media ...IMF APPROVES $13.6-MILLION LOAN FOR ARMENIA
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a nearly $13.6 million, three-year arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for Armenia “to support ...
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© AUA
Today in Armenian history- 1853 Start of the Battle of Bashkadklar.
- 1903 Death of historian Matatia (Anton) Garagashian. He was born in 1818.
- 1918 Death of Patriarch Malachia Ormanyan in Constantinople. He was born in 1841.
- 1936 Opening of the Ninth Extraordinary Congress of the Soviets (Councils) in the Armenian SSR.
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