COURT HALTS TRIAL OF EX-MP
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
June 19 2007
A controversial businessman and former parliamentarian who reportedly
provoked a mass brawl outside Yerevan last fall secured on Tuesday an
indefinite suspension of his trial thanks to his allegedly poor health.
Hakob Hakobian, who is affiliated with the governing Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK), went on trial in the southern town in Artashat last
month on charges of "hooliganism," tax evasion and other financial
irregularities. The high-profile case was brought last October
immediately after fellow lawmakers agreed to lift his legal immunity
from prosecution. The parliament’s decision was in turn prompted
by a violent incident in a village just south of Yerevan involving
Hakobian and his loyalists.
They reportedly stormed a local gas distribution facility that cut
supplies to nearby liquefied gas stations owned by Hakobian. The
pro-government businessman, better known as Choyt, was detained on the
spot and kept in custody for three days. He has denied responsibility
for the violence, saying that he arrived at the scene stop a "manly
fight" between security guards and local residents.
Hakobian, who was controversially barred from contesting the May
12 parliamentary elections, has failed to attend any of the court
hearings on the case so far, citing serious health problems. His
defense counsel, Mkrtich Vasakian, submitted to the Artashat court
on Tuesday a written statement by a Yerevan hospital saying that
Hakobian is suffering from a number of cardiac diseases and should
be spared the need to attend court hearings for at least three months.
The presiding judge, Gagik Sargsian, said the hospital reaffirmed this
assertion in response to a formal inquiry filed by the court. He said
the criminal proceedings against Hakobian will therefore be suspended
"until his recuperation."
The trial prosecutor, Vardges Gevorgian, did not protest against this
decision after the judge agreed to press ahead with the prosecution
of seven other defendants connected to Hakobian. They will now be
tried separately.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Vasakian insisted that his burly client is really
sick and needs a reprieve. He said he is confident that the judge’s
final verdict on Hakobian will be "fair."
The fraud charges leveled against Hakobian stem from his business
activities of the past 15 years. The former lawmaker, who is no
stranger to controversy, has vehemently denied them as well.
Addressing the National Assembly last October, he implicitly alleged
that he was not prosecuted earlier because he has for years bribed
law-enforcement and tax officials inspecting his businesses.