ARMENIAN EX-FOREIGN MINISTER ON TRIAL OVER DEADLY UNREST

Agence France Presse
Dec 19 2008

YEREVAN (AFP) — Seven top opposition supporters, including a former
foreign minister, went on trial in Armenia Friday on charges of seeking
to overthrow the government in unrest this year that left 10 dead.

Cries from supporters of "We are with you!" greeted the defendants
as they entered a courtroom in the capital Yerevan where they face
charges of seeking to "usurp state power" when they organised mass
protests in February and March.

Former foreign minister Alexander Arzumanian, three members of
parliament and three other government critics each face up to 15
years in prison if convicted.

Outside the courtroom, dozens of protesters chanted "Free political
prisoners!" and held pictures of the seven accused.

Before pleas could even be entered, lawyers for the defendants issued
a series of petitions to the court, including one for the judge to
recuse himself. The proceedings were initially suspended so the judge
could consider the motions and then later adjourned until December 23.

Speaking to the court, Arzumanian condemned it for bringing the case
to trial.

"You dare to accuse us! Me and my friends are the founders of this
state. I signed dozens of international agreements in the name of the
republic of Armenia. You should not have accepted this case," he said.

The charges stem from street battles that broke out when riot police
moved in to disperse thousands of supporters of former Armenian
president Levon Ter-Petrosian rallying to denounce President Serzh
Sarkisian’s victory in a February election.

Two police officers and eight civilians were killed in the clashes and
dozens more were injured, many from gunshot wounds. Ter-Petrosian had
finished second in the vote and his supporters denounced the result
as rigged.

Arzumanian, Armenia’s foreign minister from 1996 to 1998, was
Ter-Petrosian’s election campaign manager.

Critics allege that the prosecution is politically motivated and aimed
at stamping out opposition to Sarkisian in the ex-Soviet republic.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant published Friday,
Ter-Petrosian said the charges against his supporters were "crudely
forged" and that the trial was a form of "political punishment."

"The authorities are doing everything they can to shift responsibility
to the opposition for their own crimes, namely the usurpation of state
authority through the falsification of elections and the execution
of peaceful protesters," he said.

The trial will be closely watched abroad as a sign of whether Armenia
is meeting its democratic commitments.

Human rights and democracy watchdog the Council of Europe has already
raised concerns about "seemingly artificial or politically motivated
charges" against opposition supporters.

A committee of its parliamentary assembly recommended suspending
the voting rights of Armenia’s delegation, saying there are "strong
indications" that many prosecutions in connection with the unrest
"have been politically motivated."

The assembly is to vote on the recommendation at the end of next month.

Dozens were arrested following the violence and 52 have already
been tried and received prison sentences ranging from six months to
nine years.

Armenia — a mountainous country of about three million people
wedged between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey — has seen
repeated political violence and post-election protests since gaining
independence with the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.