VAHAGN CHAKHALYAN AGAIN SUBJECTED TO VIOLENCE

A1Plus.am
10/05/10

Coordinating Council for Protection of Javakheti Armenians’ rights
has issued a statement denouncing recent violence against Javakheti
political activist Vahagn Chakhalyan.

"On April 30, Javakheti politician Vahagn Chakhalyan, sentenced by a
Georgian court to 10 years of imprisonment on trumped-up charges,was
beaten by guards of Rustavi prison, where Chakhalyan is currently
serving his sentence.

The incident took place after Vahagn Chakhalyan’s meeting with his
relatives. The guards, accompanying Chakhalyan to his cell,started
insulting the politician for some unknown reasons. Meanwhile,
Chakhalyan’s answers to their insults were followed by application
of force against him.

This is the second time Chakhalyan has been subjected to violence in
a Georgian prison. The first assault took place in a Tbilisi prison
on April 16, 2009. Two days earlier, Coordination Council of Armenian
Organizations in France (CCAF) was holding a protest in support of
Vahagn Chakhalyan.

Relying on some verified data, Coordinating Council for Protection
of Javakheti Armenians’ rights announces that the recent incident is
linked to the upcoming self-government elections in Georgia.

The Council condemns the incident and calls on the international
community to give an appropriate assessment to Georgian authorities’
disgraceful step by which they cynically violate their international
commitments showing inhuman and humiliating attitude to Vahagn
Chakhalyan.

The Council reconfirms its determination to struggle for the release
of the political activist."