The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders


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The Court Sentenced the Journalist to 7 Years of Imprisonment in Armenia
[02.02.2010]
On 19 January, 2010 the Court of First Instance of Kentron and Nork Marash districts of Yerevan, presided by the Judge M. Martirosyan passed sentence on Nikol Pashinyan, editor-in-chief of “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily and convicted him to 7 years of imprisonment.

After the presidential elections held on 19 February, 2008 N. Pashinyan was among the activist members of nonviolent demonstrations and rallies held by the opposition, which demanded the authorities to abolish the results of faked elections. On 1 March, 2008 protest of opposition and their supporters was suppressed as a result of provost operations and with the assistance of band-formations using fire-arms and special means. According to official information 10 persons died, dozens of people received wounds of various degrees of seriousness, hundreds of people were arrested. Later, more than 100 of them were sentenced to different periods of imprisonment, and many of them were released only after granting amnesty under the pressure form the side of international community. Dozens of people were wanted by the police, among them was N. Pashinyan.

On 1 July, 2009 after being underground for a year and four months, N. Pashinyan yielded himself to the authorities. He was charged with part 1 of the Article 225 and part 1 of the Article 316  of the Criminal Code of Armenia. His preventive punishment was chosen as detention.

Helsinki Association held monitoring of all trial sessions. Based on it, the organization considers that serious violations took place at trials. In particular:
•    Equality of parties was not observed
•    Arguments of the prosecution side were not supported by proofs
•    Lack of corpus delicti

The Court ignored the resolutions of PACE, accordingly no one shall be punished for any act of violence unless he/she committed violence and prompted other to violence. The resolutions of PACE also call upon the Armenian authorities to release those persons who yielded themselves to authorities being wanted or underground.
Articles  2, 6, 7, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 27, 29 of the Constitution of Armenia,  Articles 8, 17, 23, of the Criminal Procedural Code of Armenia and Articles 6, 10, 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights were violated toward N. Pashinyan.

Based on the above-mentioned we, the representatives of the South Caucasus Network  of Human Rights Defenders consider that N. Pashinyan was convicted just for his political convictions like other supporters of the opposition. The members of the Network consider it impermissible that the Armenian authorities continue their harsh treatment against their political opponents.

 The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders demands the Armenian authorities to meet their obligations in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms undeviatingly, to release all political prisoners, to punish those who are guilty both who issued the order and who executed it during the carnage of March 1st, 2008.

The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders makes a request to the international community to carry out the monitoring of obligations assumed by the Armenian authorities and to exert pressure to them with a demand to stop the harsh treatment toward the citizens who struggle for democratic reforms.

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