ARMENIAN EDITOR JAILED FOR 4 YEARS
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 8 2006

The young editor of an Armenian newspaper critical of the government
was found guilty of illegally avoiding military service and sentenced
to four years in prison by a Yerevan court on Friday.

The court backed prosecutors’ claim that Arman Babajanian of
"Zhamanak Yerevan" used fake documents to win exemption from the
two-year compulsory duty in 2002. But the presiding judge, Mnatsakan
Martirosian, dismissed as "unfounded" a separate accusation that
Babajanian stole the documents from an Armenian couple based in
California.

Still, the jail sentence is only six months shorter than the one
demanded by the prosecutors. It is also quite harsh for individuals
convicted of draft evasion in Armenia. They usually get between two
and three years in jail. Babajanian’s defense counsel is therefore
likely to appeal against the verdict.

The 30-year-old editor looked resigned to going to prison as he
delivered his final court remarks two hours before the announcement
of the ruling. "Whether I will be in jail or at large, my homeland
Armenia will remain my dearest place," he said. "It looks as though
I have to lose liberty in order to win back my right to again live
in the homeland. If this is so, I will pay the price and duly accept
any prison sentence set by the court."

Babajanian added that he resorted to fraud after failing to extend
the deferment of his military service and study in a U.S. university.

He claimed that military authorities repeatedly rejected medical
documents testifying to his poor health.

Under Armenian law, virtually all young men aged between 18 and 27
must serve in the armed forces for two years. Those who are admitted
to state universities before coming of age have to be drafted after
finishing their studies.

Babajanian used to study in an Armenian religious seminary and had
his service deferred until 2001 before moving to the United States in
1998. He was arrested in June just weeks after returning to Armenia
and starting to publish the newspaper in Armenia. In a subsequent
statement released from his prison cell, he accused the authorities
of trying to muzzle an "independent and incorruptible media outlet
supporting the removal of the illegal regime and the establishment
of a legitimate government in Armenia."

The "Zhamanak Yerevan" staff say Babajanian would not have been
prosecuted had his paper supported the government, a claim dismissed
by the prosecutors.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress