SIMONYAN PLEADED GUILTY TO ASSAULTING ANC YOUTH ACTIVISTS

Tert.am
15:15 ~U 02.04.10

Davit Simonyan, earlier criminally charged with physically assaulting
Armenian National Congress youth Vladimir Karapetyan, Vahagn Gevorgyan
and Sargis Gevorgyan, has pleaded guilty in a court session today
at the Court of First Instance of Center and Nork-Marash Communities
in Yerevan.

Lawyer Stepan Voskanyan, representing the victims, put forth a motion
asking the court to re-classify the charges defined under Articles
117 (beating) and 118 (physical injury) of RA Criminal Code to
"hooliganism" and "hindering propaganda."

But the prosecutor objected, explaining that even though it was
mentioned in the case that propaganda was spread, the beating that
took place on the day on trial had nothing to do with propaganda
and politics and was based on personal grounds. The judge rejected
the motion.

Voskanyan made another motion asking the court to include Hermine
Matevosyan, Mariam Mouradyan and Davit Matevosyan as witnesses in
the case. Matevosyan, at the time, was the head of former chief
editor of local Armenian daily Haykakan Zhamanak ("Armenian Times")
Nikol Pashinyan’s election headquarters. Voskanyan mentioned that
their testimony could prove that on the very day the ANC youth were
spreading propaganda. The judge rejected that motion too.