SMBAT AYVAZYAN WAS ASKED OUT

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[05:13 pm] 21 January, 2009

Today the presentees of the Court of Appeals welcomed Republic Party
member Smbat Ayvazyan with warm applauses. The latter didn’t stand up
when the judges entered the courtroom. Justice Grisha Melik-Sargysan
got indignant at this and reminded Smbat Ayvazyan of the relevant law
but Ayvazyan opposed to Grisha Melik-Sargysan saying he "doesn’t have
confidence in courts."

"You can announce your verdict and go away," said the defendant.

The judges decided to send Ayvazyan out of the courtroom for his
apparent disrespect for court.

"Do cheer up! They are criminals executing Serzh Sargsyan’s
order. Don’t become despondent!" Smbat Ayvazyan said to the presentees
before leaving the courtroom. The judges and prosecutor Hovsep Sargsyan
dashed away to avoid foul expressions in their address.

"The law says that a person must stand up in court. We should
differentiate between the terms "court" and "judge". Our society
seems to mix these two notions. Courts must be impartial, unbiased
and fair and they must act within the law. Our judges disregard their
duties and want the defendants to respect them," Advocate Lusine
Sahakyan gave her assessment to the judges’ behaviour. "The moment
judges carry out their duties Smbat Ayvazyan and the other political
prisoners will show respect for courts."

I think they fear lest the European Court should set serious demands to
Armenia. Therefore, they delay the trials so that people cannot appeal
to the European Court. Moreover, with the periodical adjournment of the
trials they make a rough breach of the European Convention and Armenian
Constitution. Actually, we have a right to appeal this decision but
since we are guided by the European Convention we shall apply to the
EC only after appealing to all relevant instances in Armenia.

Let’s remind that today the Court of Appeals was to hear the appeal
of Ayvazyan’s advocates against the Court of General Jurisdiction of
Kentron and Nork-Marash districts. On November 19, 2008 the Court
of General Jurisdiction had sentenced Smbat Ayvazyan to two years’
of prison for carrying illegal weapon and using violence against a
government representative.

The advocates demanded that the Court justify Smbat Ayvazyan who has
already been jailed for eleven months. Remind that Smbat Ayvazyan was
detained on February 24, 2008 when returning home from an opposition
rally at Liberty Square.