YERKIR UNION
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ARMENIA
Contact: Robert Tatoyan
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PRESS-RELEASE
14 september 2009

Sylvie Guillaume, MEP, has questioned the European authorities about Vahagn
Chakhalyan

The Yerkir Union informs you of Sylvie Guillaume’s approach to Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations, on Vahagn
Chakhalyan’s case, who’s the leader of the Democratic Alliance Javakhk Uni
and is sentenced to 10 years in prison in Georgia.

YERKIR Union

European Parliament
Sylvie Guillaume

N / Ref. : SG/LB/09-14

Benita Ferrero-Waldner
Commissioner for External Relations

Strasbourg September 15, 2009

Madam,

I would like to alert you on the situation of the ethnic and religious
minorities living in Georgia who are victims of discrimination.

Most particularly, the Armenian minority suffers language, social and
religious discrimination. The region, where the armenian minority
constitutes a majority, is heavily deficient of transit roads, energy,
health and social services.

One of the ethnic armenian leaders of Georgia, Vahagn Chakhalyan, was
arrested in July 2008 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for largely
questionable charges.

The peaceful demands of his movement are neither independentist nor
autonomist and seek recognition of the civil rights of the Armenian minority
in Georgia, when that country conducts a policy of assimilation since the
dismantling of the Russian military bases in 2005.

Vahagn Chakhalyan was transferred from his prison in Tbilisi in a prison in
another town, 30 km away, where he feares for his safety, while his appeal
is still pending.

His appeal is scheduled to resume on Friday but the procedures of arrest,
investigation and trial at the court of 1st instance were interspersed with
major violations by the judiciary (Justice of Georgia has even denied him
the right to have a French lawyer). We cannot leave the Georgian authorities
act in contravention of the international conventions on the right to a fair
trial, all the more so as Georgia, under EU funding and by the European
Neighborhood Policy, has received 15 Million Euro paid for "justice
reforms."

Could you engage the EU representation in Tbilisi for the observation of the
trial? Is there no need to account to the Georgian authorities on the use of
the funds intended to improve the functioning of the judiciary system and to
consider the legislation to encourage Georgia to meet its commitments?

Please accept, Madam, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Sylvie Guillaume