Vahagn Chakhalyan Refuses to Participate in Georgian Appeals Court Sessions
[ 2009/10/20 | 11:36 ]
On October 16, jailed Javakhk Armenian activist Vahagn Chakhalyan issued a statement through his lawyer that he would no longer attend court sessions regarding his appeal of a lower court decision that sentenced him to ten years imprisonment. The activist said the entire procedure was flawed and that he didn’t wish to legitimize the judicial farce by showing up. Also appealing their sentences are Mr. Chakhalyan’s father and younger brother.Mr. Chakhalyan stated that the two appeals sessions already concluded were replete with illegalities just as the lower court hearings. He complained that the Georgian authorities had illegally deprived him of employing the services of French-Armenian lawyer Patrick Arabian and that the court had thrown out all motions made by the defense. The activist also claimed that translations of court transcripts into Armenian were quite unsatisfactory and thus he couldn’t properly follow trial developments.
