COURT DECISION ON PETITION TO CHALLENGE PROSECUTION IN GAGIK JHANGIRIAN’S CASE TO BE ANNOUNCED ON SEPTEMBER 2
Noyan Tapan
Se p 1, 2008
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. The court sitting on the case
of the former prosecutor general of Armenia Gagik Jhangirian was
held in the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan’s Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities presided over by Judge Zhora Vardanian on
September 1. G. Jhangirian is charged under Article 316 part 1 of
the RA Criminal Code: committing violence, not dangerous for life
and health, against a representative of authorities. G. Jhangirian
himself considers the case as false. To recap, G.
Jhangirian had been also charged with keeping an illegal weapon and
usurping power (Article 235 part 1 and Article 300 part 1) but later
these charges were dropped.
The court dismissed the defence’s petition to challenge the presiding
judge on the ground that the judge cannot be impartial because his son
is a member of the group conducting an investigation into the case. The
court substantiated its decision by the fact that the judge’s son did
not participate in any investigative action related to G. Jhangirian
so this circumstance, according to the court, cannot cast a doubt on
impartiality of the judge.
The defence also submitted a petition to challenge the prosecution:
prosecutors Hovsep Sargsian, Koryun Piloyan and Lilit Tadevosian did
not control properly the preliminary investigation into the case as G.
Jhangirian was taken to police and arrested in an obviously illegal
way, the bringing of charges against him, the choice of arrest as
a precautionary measure and the extension of his arrest twice were
illegal as well. G. Jhangirian added that he without any legal status
was kept in police for 28 hours, and the petition to choose arrest was
filed to court two and a half hours after the law-envisaged period
of arrest – 72 hours. The court will announce its decision on the
petition at the September 2 court sitting.