ADVOCATES PUNISHED AS WELL

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05:10 pm | March 17, 2009

Politics

Judge of the "Case of Seven" Mnatsakan Martirosyan stayed in court
with the accusers today.

After a thirty-minute intermission, the judge registered the absence
of the defendants and decided to apply a judicial sanction against
advocates Liparit Simonyan, Melanya Arustamyan and Varduhi Elbakyan
based on the formulation that "they did not ask the judge’s permission
for not showing up to court".

He had already made the same decision for advocates Stepan Voskanyan
and Hovik Arsenyan. This means that the Chamber of Advocates of
Armenia must examine the issue of applying sanctions against five
advocates if the counseling body gives its consent before that.

After announcing his decision, judge Martirosyan set the next date
of the trial for March 23 at 12 p.m.

Yesterday President of the Chamber of Advocates Ruben Sahakyan had
announced that he sees no violation of the law by advocates.

Let us remind that the deadline for penalties of political prisoners
Alexander Arzumanyan, Miasnik Malkhasyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Sasun
Mikayelyan and Suren Sirunyan ends on March 19, while Grigor
Voskerchyan’s ends much later.

No other parent showed up to court today besides the parents of
Tigran Khachatryan and Gor Kyolyan-victims of the 10 murders of March
1. Members of the pan-Armenian movement and relatives of political
prisoners were not protesting near the court again today.