Vahagn Chakhalyan again subjected to violence
Coordinating Council for Protection of Javakheti Armenians' rights has issued a statement denouncing recent violence against Javakheti political activist Vahagn Chakhalyan.
"On April 30, Javakheti politician Vahagn Chakhalyan, sentenced by a Georgian court to 10 years of imprisonment on trumped-up charges,was beaten by guards of Rustavi prison, where Chakhalyan is currently serving his sentence.
The incident took place after Vahagn Chakhalyan's meeting with his relatives. The guards, accompanying Chakhalyan to his cell,started insulting the politician for some unknown reasons. Meanwhile, Chakhalyan's answers to their insults were followed by application of force against him.
This is the second time Chakhalyan has been subjected to violence in a Georgian prison. The first assault took place in a Tbilisi prison on April 16, 2009. Two days earlier, Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF) was holding a protest in support of Vahagn Chakhalyan.
Relying on some verified data, Coordinating Council for Protection of Javakheti Armenians' rights announces that the recent incident is linked to the upcoming self-government elections in Georgia.
The Council condemns the incident and calls on the international community to give an appropriate assessment to Georgian authorities' disgraceful step by which they cynically violate their international commitments showing inhuman and humiliating attitude to Vahagn Chakhalyan.
The Council reconfirms its determination to struggle for the release of the political activist."
