Epress.am News from Armenia
The Armenian police is well prepared for the court hearings that began on June 12 in the case of Shant Harutyunyan and the 13 other political activists who were detained with him, creating several obstacles to entering the courtroom for both the media and relatives of the accused, said Harutyunyan's attorney Inessa Petrosyan (pictured) during today's discussion at the Media Center.
She said she herself barely managed to enter the courthouse — arriving a few minutes late, she saw that all the entrances were closed.
"That is to say, we have a situation today when the ruling authorities are criminally prosecuting 14 people, basically knowing that they are persecuting them for their political views; in addition, they are obstructing a public trial," she said.
Petrosyan said that the small size of the courtroom also doesn't allow the lawyers to properly defend their clients' rights, but the judge said that this is the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan's biggest courtroom, and there won't be any changes.
Ara Zakaryan, the attorney of two of the accused, Tigran Petrosyan and Armen Hovhannisyan, also considered the size of the courtroom a problem, saying that there are courtrooms in Armenia that correspond to the needs of such public cases; for example, the Court of First Instance of Shengavit Community of Yerevan. It is important, he said, to make the case as public as possible, also stating that the authorities are obstructing the holding of an open and transparent judicial process.
Recall, Shant Harutyunyan and his supporters were arrested on November 5, 2013, at the start of an anti-government march. They are accused of "hooliganism" involving weapons or objects used as weapons. Several local human rights activists and international organizations consider the men political prisoners.