People wishing to sit in at the trial of actor/comedian Vardan Petrosyan, which got underway at the Kotayk Provincial Court today, were not allowed inside if they couldn’t produce any I.D.

Court bailiffs checked everyone and turned away those who couldn’t produce such documentation

They referred to Article 214 of the RA Judicial Code, Point 1 of which states that a bailiff has the right “To determine the identity of persons entering into the court, those present in the courtroom, or those subjected to a judicial sanction.”

The law doesn’t specify that those failing to produce proper I.D. can be barred from a public court session.

Arsen Babayan, who heads the International Cooperation and Public Relations Service of RA Judicial Department, told Hetq that the decision to bar those without ID was to ensure the safety
of the litigants given public uproar surrounding the trial.

On October 20, 2013 Vardan Petrosyan got into a car accident on the Yerevan-Yeghvard highway in which two sixteen year old boys were killed and four others were injured, including Petrosyan.