MR. HAMMARBERG, YOUR WORK IS NOT PRODUCTIVE

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The five attorneys of the “Case of the Seven” separate from the “March 1” case met today with EU Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg. The meeting did not really please the attorneys, at least not attorney Hovik Arsenyan.

“We told him that the cases are phony, unsubstantiated; there is no evidence in the case, no proof for persecution, but Mr. Hammarberg gave us one question: What do you think will happen in court? That question was repulsive. If there is no evidence, what’s the point of a trial? Thus, I don’t think that the meeting with Hammarberg helped and that is a tragedy. As an RA citizen, Hammarberg’s questions made me hopeless,” told “A1+” attorney Hovik Arsenyan.

Let us recall that Alexander Arzumanyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Myasnik Malkhasyan, Sasun Mikayelyan, Grigor Voskerchyan, Shant Harutyunyan and Suren Sirunyan are charged for participating in the state appropriation and mass disorder.

The attorney presented Hammarberg the core of the verdicts reached for the political prisoners, including member of the “Republic” political party Smbat Ayvazyan.

“I also made it clear to Hammarberg that before his visit in July and afterwards, some prisoners were conditionally released, but this time it was the opposite. I was straightforward with Hammarberg and told him ‘Mr. Hammarberg, your work is unproductive, especially in the fulfillment of the PACE resolutions 1609 and 1620. The PACE says one thing and doesn’t pay attention when something else is done.”

Mr. Arsenyan informed “A1+” that as the representatives of other international organizations, Hammarberg also doesn’t use the word political prisoner. Mr. Arsenyan believes that the political prisoners made a right decision today by rejecting Hammarberg’s proposal to meet.

“That rejection has nothing to do with Hammarberg personally. The political prisoners express their protest and complaint regarding the ineffectiveness of the PACE.”

Hovik Arsenyan is of the opinion that today the RA administration shows a lack of discretion by overlooking the requirements of resolutions 1609 and 1620.

“It doesn’t matter who comes to knock some sense into us. We must able to get through this on our own.”

Regardless of the visits of Hammarberg and representatives of international organizations to Armenia, Arsenyan said: “I want our authorities to be tolerant towards our citizens and themselves and show a state approach to any issue.”

In any case, Arsenyan believes that it is necessary to work with international organizations and that there will be results sooner or later.

EU Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg is having a meeting with RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan as we speak.