Armenian independent MP called arrested Georgian citizen a political

ARMENIAN INDEPENDENT MP CALLED ARRESTED GEORGIAN CITIZEN A POLITICAL PRISONER

ARMINFO News Agency
October 19, 2006 Thursday

Amayak Hovhannisyan, independent MP of National Assembly of Armenia
(NAA), said at the meeting with journalists that Vahagn Chakhalyan,
member of presidium of Georgian democratic bloc ‘United Javahkh’,
is a political prisoner and not an executive of somebody’s orders.

A. Hovhannisyan said that he was denied meeting with the imprisoned
even after interference of Tigran Torosyan, speaker of NAA. Vahagn
Chakhalyan is kept in the Erevan-Center penitentiary. V. Chakhalyan
said that he would claim resignation of David Harutyunyan, Minister
of Justice of RA, because it was he who ordered the denial of the
meeting with A. Hovhannisyan.

Later, 15 MPs of NAA predominantly from ‘Justice’ party in opposition
signed a statement demanding law enforcement bodies to investigate
the Oct 10 attack on activists of the democratic bloc ‘United
Javahkh’. They also demand that either Vahagn Chakhalyan be released
or his preventive punishment be amended. Apart from the opposition
MPs, the document was also signed by – Armen Ashotyan, MP of the
‘Republican’ party of the governing coalition, as well as Raffic
Petrosyan, Head of the NAA Commission on State-Legislative Issues.