On May 7, 2009, the first hearing in the case of refusal by the Ministry of Justice to register Patrick Arapian, a French lawyer and a member of the Paris Bar, as a court defender of Javakhk political activist Vahagn Chakhalyan will be held at Tbilisi City Court for Administrative Cases.

The “Yerkir Union" reports that Chakhalyan will be represented in this case by Nino Andriashvili, a lawyer of the Georgian  Human Rights Centre (HRIDC) NGO , which seeks to protect and promote human rights and basic freedoms in Georgia. On February 16, 2009, the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, without providing any explanation, refused to register Mr. Arapian as defender of Vahagn Chahalyan in the ongoing trial. The Public Defender of Georgia Sozar Subari, in his letter addressed to the Minister of Justice Z. Adeishvili recommended that the latter should restore the violated rights of the Chahalyans family and allow the participation of the French lawyer, but the Georgian authorities ignored this recommendation. At the demonstrations in defense of Vahagn Chakhalyan that took place in Paris on April 14 and 28, the Ambassador of Georgia to France Mamuka Kudava received the organizers of the protest action and promised that the Georgian authorities would give a positive solution to the question of registration of Patrick Arapian.