Vahagn Chakhalyan Files Motion with Georgian Constitutional Court
[ 2009/11/13 | 13:59 ]On November 10, jailed Javakhk Armenian activist Vahagn Chakhalyan petitioned the Constitutional Court of Georgia, to declare as unconstitutional the law disallowing foreign attorneys to practice and take cases in the country.
In a public statement, the “Yerkir Union” argues that Mr. Chakhalyan was forced to petition the highest court in the land since the Georgian Ministry of Justice, on February 16, 2009, refused registering French-Armenian lawyer Patrick Arabian as his defense attorney.
The “Yerkir” statement goes on to say that on June 189, 2009, when Chakhalyan’s appeal of the Justice Ministry’s decision was still being heard, the Georgian parliament passed a number of changes to the law regarding criminal cases, thus effectively barring foreign attorneys from practicing in Georgia, as had been formerly allowed.
Given these statutory modifications, the district court rejected the registration of Patrick Arabian on July 15, 2009.
Readers will note that Vahagn Chakhalyan was found guilty of illegal arms possession and organizing public disturbances by an Akhaltskha court on April 7, 2009, and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. His father and brother were found guilty of the illegal weapons charges and fined by the same court.
