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Measure of Pashinyan’s Punishment was Not Discussed During the Court Session

The appeal of the chief editor of “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily Nikol Pashinyan, related to calculation of the measure of punishment of the Court of Appeals, was once again failed.

On February 14, hearing during the court session held at “Artik” penitentiary institution was not processed because of the obstacles created by the penitentiary administration.

Instead, withdrawal of Pashinyan’s documents from the isolator became a subject of discussion.

The matter was that during the session Pashinyan presented a petition of bringing from his cell the documents which he had prepared for that very hearing and which the penitentiary administration has been stubbornly prohibiting to take out.

The court granted Pashinyan’s petition. The penitentiary administration led him to the cell but again didn’t allow taking the documents out of the cell.

Instead of half an hour prescribed by the judge the trial participants waited two and a half hour for Pashinyan’s return from the cell who came back empty-handed and stated, “Dear court, I just want to inform you what has happened during this period. We went to my cell, and I tried to take the documents, but the penitentiary representative told that I would be allowed to take only the papers which he was convinced were related to the court case.”

The appeal of the chief editor of “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily Nikol Pashinyan, related to calculation of the measure of punishment of the Court of Appeals, was once again failed.

On February 14, hearing during the court session held at “Artik” penitentiary institution was not processed because of the obstacles created by the penitentiary administration.

Instead, withdrawal of Pashinyan’s documents from the isolator became a subject of discussion.

The matter was that during the session Pashinyan presented a petition of bringing from his cell the documents which he had prepared for that very hearing and which the penitentiary administration has been stubbornly prohibiting to take out.

The court granted Pashinyan’s petition. The penitentiary administration led him to the cell but again didn’t allow taking the documents out of the cell.

Instead of half an hour prescribed by the judge the trial participants waited two and a half hour for Pashinyan’s return from the cell who came back empty-handed and stated, “Dear court, I just want to inform you what has happened during this period. We went to my cell, and I tried to take the documents, but the penitentiary representative told that I would be allowed to take only the papers which he was convinced were related to the court case.”

Not admitting the compulsion, Pashinyan had requested to lead him to the court room to clarify the situation, but his return had taken two hours.

The judge asked why such a situation was created, and the deputy head of “Artik” penitentiary Aghasi Khachatryan insisted that Nikol was trying to take out from the cell the letters addressed to “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily, whereas correspondence, by law, must be done only through the administration of the penitentiary.

The chief editor of “Haykakan Zhamanak” presented the same petition for the second time. This time the penitentiary administration did the court’s decision, that is allowed Pashinyan to take out his documents from the cell, but after getting acquainted with their contents beforehand.

The documents arrived at the hall only to the end of the working day, that’s why the session was postponed.

Subject of the hearing is that Pashinyan’s lawyers require from the Appeals Court to reverse the verdict of the first instance court of the Aragatsotn region reached in November 2010, according to which the court has refused to invalidate the decision of envisaging a 3-year, 10-month, 29-day punishment for the political prisoner.

This measure of punishment was set in May of the same year by the head of “Nubarashen” prison Tigran Navasardyan. Pashinyan’s lawyers Vahe Grigoryan and Yervand Varosyan are convinced that the head of “Nubarashen” prison has done an incorrect calculation, which will result in their client’s remaining in prison until May 2013, i.e. about five months more.

In his statement addressed to journalists Pashinyan complained that “Artik” penitentiary institution has not accepted and sent his letters for already two and a half months. Even during the meetings with his lawyers he is not allowed to hand them any document. They have not even accepted the letter addressed to the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg. The European Court of Human Rights has sent him questions to answer, but the penitentiary administration at any cost hinders for the addressee not to get Pashinyan’s answer.