Violence also committed against Vardges Gaspari in prison cell, ANC says

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The head office of the Armenian
National Congress (ANC) received a letter bearing the date "December
26" from prisoner Vardges Gaspari. According to the letter, at 10:30 am
on December 23, 2008, ten people in "camouflages" entered his cell and
subjected him to physical violence. The next day he applied to the head
of the prison with the request to open a criminal case in connection
with this fact, but his application remained unanswered.

The ANC head office reminds that it has received several times alarm
calls that "the political prisoners are subjected to torture and
violence in their places of imprisonment. In addition to Grigor
Voskerchian, Gevorg Manukian and Armen Khurshudian, Vardges Gaspari is
the fourth persons who is known to have been subjected to torture".
According to ANC, the regime resorts to this step "in order to create
an atmosphere of fear and despair, extract applications for pardon from
political prisoners and use this as an argument to avoid the impending
punishment at the upcoming session of PACE".

The joint statement of the persons accused in "the case of the seven"
appeals to supporters of the opposition "to be present together with
the whole people at the court building on January 9, but not to enter
the courtroom".

"The regime faces the reality that our trial, which has caused national
protest and received international publicity, will turn into a trial
against itself by exposing the whole picture of illegalities and crimes
committed by the ruling gang and its leaders. In order to avoid this
perspective, a guileful provocation was planned in the courtroom at the
December 27 trial: to make a decision on holding a closed-door trial by
creating a confusion in the courtroom. Thanks to the appeal made by the
Armenian National Congress the day before and the fact that you did not
enter the courtroom, the planned provocation was foiled," the statement
reads.