CHAKHALYAN PROSECUTORS SEEK TO PREVENT INDEPENDENT BALLISTICS EXAMINATION
Kristine Aghalaryan
2009/08/25 | 10:02
Court Diaspora
Georgian prosecutors in the case of jailed Javakhk Armenian activist
and head of the "United Javakhk Alliance" Vahagn Chakhalyan have
yet to hand over the arms and ammunition allegedly taken from his
house and the Javakhk Youth Sports and Cultural Center to the proper
authorities for ballistics testing.
The Georgian Appeals Court had decided in favor of a motion by Vahagn
Chakhalyan’s lawyer, Nino Andriashvili, a member of the Georgian
"Human Rights Center NGO", to have the arms tested by an independent
expert. However, attorney Andriashvili states that prosecutors have
yet to hand over the weapons in their possession for testing.
In a phone conversation with "Hetq", the attorney said that he had
spoken with the judge’s assistant who said that before leaving for
vacation the judge had directed the prosecutor to hand over the
weapons to the independent examiner for testing. The deadline for
the testing had since passed.
"I called up the judge’s office again and spoke with the assistant
who said that the judge hadn’t returned to Tbilisi. I also called the
prosecutor but the phone had been disconnected. I am at a loss what
to do. We will be forced to once again motion for an examination at
the next trial session on September 18. The judge might respond by
saying that the trial is being delayed and pass sentence without
a ballistics examination. We can’t let this happen. We are not to
blame. The prosecution is doing everything it can to see that an
examination doesn’t happen," Nino Andriashvili said.