Another reason why the justice system in Armenia does not work

Here is another flaw in the justice system in Armenia. Amnesty is another tool to free criminals who paid bribes to get reduced sentences when they are tried, thus when “amnesty” rolls around, they are eligible and can pay a bribe to get put on the list of those freed. For the most part, all those in the past who were sentenced for trafficking of human beings have received sentences short enough so they qualify for amnesty. It would be interesting see who is on the list who go amnesty this go around.


337 PRISONERS AMNESTIED IN ARMENIA

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 28, 2006

YEREVAN, August 28. /ARKA/. 337 prisoners have been amnestied in Armenia on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the country's independence. Fifty prisoners' terms have been reduced.

Press Secretary of the RA Ministry of Justice Anahit Voskanyan reported that the amnesty applies to the people that committed crimes before June 1, 2006.

She also said that the information on the amnestied prisoners is as of August 18, 2006.

"However, the number of amnestied prisoners will not rise, because the amnestied groups are clearly determined. The process will last until September 30,"she said.

On July 7, 2006, the RA Parliament made a unanimous decision announcing amnesty.

Most of the prisoners included in the amnesty are persons sentenced to three years, persons subjected to punishment not involving imprisonment, as well as persons subjected to conditional punishment.

In certain cases, people sentenced to 5-10 years will be amnestied as well.

The perpetrators of serious and grave crimes will not be amnestied.

The last amnesty was announced in Armenia in 2001, on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia.

ARMENIANS BID FAREWELL TO RENOWNED POETESS

RFE/RL Armenia Report - 08/29/2006

By Gayane Danielian

Thousands of people gathered near the Opera House in Yerevan on Tuesday to attend the funeral of famous poetess and outstanding public figure Silva Kaputikian.

Many of admirers of her poetry, among them thousands of ordinary people, Diaspora Armenians, as well as politicians, came to bid farewell to the women on the poetry of which generations of Armenians were raised both in Armenia and abroad.

The funeral was organized by a government-appointed commission led by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian.

`It is a great loss not only for our literature, but also for the people. An intellectual who left us precepts about our fatherland, language, about national values died,' Markarian said in his speech at the funeral.

The poetess, who died last Friday, at the age of 87, is known for her active civil position both in the communist times when she was in the forefront of the Karabakh movement and also in the post-independence years when, as her friends and colleagues say, she was not afraid to raise a voice of protest against what she considered to be unjust and unfair.

Kaputikian returned the Mesrop Mashtots Order she received from the state for her merits as a poetess and public figure after the authorities used violence against peaceful demonstrators in April 2004.

`When such people leave our lives, it is a loss for the entire nation. And today I want to express my condolences to the whole nation,' Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosian said about the poetess.

Head of the National Assembly's Standing Commission on Science, Education and Culture Affairs Hranush Hakobian said Kaputikian will stay in the memory of Armenians as their national poetess. `She lived a glorious life and the state and the nation is saying good-bye to her in a solemn way,' she said.

His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II was also among those who came to bid farewell to Kaputikian.

When the coffin with Kaputikian's body was to be placed onto a catafalque on Abovian Street, a group of people volunteered to carry `the great daughter of the nation' to the cemetery on their shoulders, and they led the procession for about two kilometers to the Komitas Pantheon where Kaputikian was buried next to great Armenian composer Aram Khachatrian.

GOVERNMENT JUSTIFIES ITS SONS

By Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am
29 Aug 06

The Armenian government is a surprising thing. It never forgets what it needs, but it often forgets about things that the society needs.

Or it does not know what is necessary most of all for the society in Armenia. It is law, or as it is accepted to say, only say, the rule of law. It is when everyone is equal before what was written and accept what was written. But lo and behold, the government does everything to create inequality before the law. The purpose is clear.

By placing equal categories of people on different hands of the scales of the law the government insures itself. The point is that by dividing the society the government justifies, "legalizes" its separation from the law.

The examples are many and there is no need to look for them because these are offered to the public almost every day. So we have a fresh example, which is a month old but seems to have just become a subject of public debates. It is the government decision on deferment of military service in three universities in Yerevan, the Slavic University, the French University and the European Regional Academy.

The government did not forget what it needs and returns to the idea of drafting students. This idea, which is 2 years old, occurred to the head of the Ministry of Defense. At that time all the universities were affected, the graduate students, which gave rise to a surge of protest among students. The government had to give up the idea of drafting students in the middle of their studies, because in the same period the opposition was also very active, and there was danger that the students would spark a movement of the opposition.

This time they seem to have decided part by part, not the whole at once. But the problem is the phenomenon, which is unclear and simply unfair. The point is that the students of three universities, in fact, appear to have unequal rights compared with the students of the other universities. In other words, the suspension of the right to defer military service breaks the Constitution because the basic law obliges the government to provide for equal economic competition. The government may say that there are other universities where military service is not deferred. Of course there are, and this affirms that either military service should be deferred in all the universities or not deferred at all.

The next unfair thing is a connotation of the decision of the government, which allows making a number of suggestions. In the Slavic University, the French University and the European Academy the right to defer military service was not taken away fully. The Slavic University is given 200 places, the French University 70 and the European Academy 30. In other words, even in this case there is no equality. Why? Is that because the Slavic University is a Russian university and the other two are European? But our relation with France is no less "strategic" than with Russia. Consequently, we deal with another motive.

The government gives one reason - the army. And it could not give another reason. It is beyond doubt that the army needs soldiers. But it appears that especially the soldiers of the abovementioned three universities are appreciated highly by the defense ministry. In fact, it is rather pleasing for the students of these universities that the defense ministry appreciates them as future soldiers, but these students will also ask why only them. Or for instance why the defense ministry does not appreciate the sons of public officials, generals and other officials of the Command as future soldiers. Aren't their sons for military service, or does the defense ministry consider military service a "low mission", not worthwhile for sons of generals? The government should answer these questions, otherwise many other questions occur. It is necessary to explain why the legal demand for military service is distributed unevenly to everyone, including the students of Yerevan State University, the University of Economics and other universities. Is this an effort to justify the unequal state of their sons?

When will justice prevail?

It seems that attempts to get Artur Khanzadyan extradited to the United States from Armenia for the murder of his girlfriend Odet Tsaturyan failed.

According to the story below, he was sentenced to 10 years in an Armenia prison instead of being extradited to stand trial where the crime was committed.

What this equates to is that he will probably serve 3 years and then be let out. And the 3 years in jail is also a bit questionable, since Armenia prisons are known to let people pay bribes to serve their sentence while leading a normal life away from prison at home.

If you ask me, justice was not served in this case and there is a very good chance that the government who in the past have extradited criminals back to the U.S. were most probably paid some big bribes and/or Khanzadyan’s family have connections with people in high places.

Once again we have an example of Armenian corruption at work and this time it’s not the death of an Indian student, but 23-year-old Armenian girl who lost her life and the criminal responsible was protected by Robert Kocharian’s government.

Bad move Robert. Another strike against you and one step back for Armenia to normal international relations.


Glendale News Press, CA
Aug. 26, 2006

Man found guilty of killing girl

Judge in Armenia takes 30 minutes to render his decision, sentencing Glendale man to 10 years.

By Tania Chatila

GLENDALE - A judge in Armenia found 25-year-old Artur Khanzadyan of Glendale guilty on Friday of murdering his girlfriend nearly a year ago, then hiding her body in the trunk of his car, police said.

Judge Mushegh Harutunyan sentenced Khanzadyan - whose trial in Vanadzor, Armenia lasted two days - was to 10 years in an Armenian prison for the murder of 24-year-old Odet Tsaturyan with the act of jealousy, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.

"I'm glad justice was done, he was sentenced and he will serve time, but I just think it would have been better if it was here.... He probably deserved much more than that. It was a heinous crime," said Amanda Ryan Romo, a former teacher of Tsaturyan's.

Tsaturyan, also of Glendale, left her family's home at about 5 p.m. on Sept. 6 for a party she never arrived at.

That same night, Khanzadyan, left his home at 6:30 p.m. and did not return.

Police believe Tsaturyan got into an argument with Khanzadyan before leaving her house that day, then agreed to meet him in Southwest Glendale, where her abandoned car was found on Sept. 13.

She was likely strangled to death that night, but her body was found three days later in the trunk of Khanzadyan's 2005 Audi, which was parked on a residential street in Azusa, Glendale Police Det. Craig Tweedy said.

Khanzadyan fled to Armenia where he was arrested by Armenian authorities in late November.

Three Glendale detectives - including Tweedy - traveled to Armenia to try to get Khanzadyan to voluntarily return to the United States, where he was charged with second-degree murder. But Khanzadyan - a citizen of Armenia - would not return on his own will and Armenian officials were not willing to denaturalize him to have him brought back, Tweedy said.

The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Armenia.

Glendale Police enlisted the help of Rep. Adam Schiff in trying to get Khanzadyan returned, but to no avail.

"I would have strongly preferred to have him brought back here for trial, where he would have faced life in prison or even death," Schiff said. "But I am glad he was found guilty and will serve time in Armenia. And I hope he serves the full sentence.... This is something we'll be watching."

Tweedy and Glendale Police Det. Tigran Topadzhikyan flew to Armenia on Sunday night to help the prosecution in the trial.

The Glendale Police Officers Assn. and Glendale's St. Peter Armenian Church Youth Ministries' Center raised $1,500 to also send Tsaturyan's father, Shagen Tsaturyan, to the trial.

"The father said that he was thankful for the detectives going out there," Balian said. "It was in his hometown."

During the trial, Khanzadyan's defense attorney, Karine Gasparyan, argued that he accidentally killed Odet Tsaturyan by placing his hand over her mouth, Tweedy said.

Gasparyan said Khanzadyan tried to resuscitate her, but was unable to, Tweedy said. Gasparyan also argued that the injuries to Odet Tsaturyan's neck were from Khanzadyan's efforts to administer CPR, and not from him strangling her, Tweedy said.

She also argued that a head injury Khanzadyan suffered as a child causes him to think irrationally, and that if Odet Tsaturyan was alive, she would have never accused him of intentionally trying to harm her, Tweedy said.

The judge took about 30 minutes before rendering a verdict and a sentence on Friday, Tweedy said.

But before the verdict was read, Khanzadyan had a chance to speak before the court, Tweedy said.

He apologized to those affected by incident, but denied intentionally killing Odet Tsaturyan, Tweedy said.

"I hope in the future when we have people who commit murder in our community flee to Armenia, we have more success in bringing the back to face charges here," Schiff said.

Still, the sentencing offers some kind of closure, Romo said.

"[Odet Tsaturyan] was bright, intelligent, dedicated to school work, dedicated to making something better of herself .... She was really driven," Romo said.

"I saw somebody dedicated to her job, coming to school and making something better of herself."

LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: TALKS ABOUT POSSIBLE RETURN OF LIBERATED TERRITORIES INSULTING

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 25, 2006

YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. Talks about possible return of liberated territories to Azerbaijan are insulting, stated the political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan.

According to him, inadmissible is the justification of return of these territories by the fact that Armenians have not resided there for the last few decades.

"This means giving up the Armenian people's territorial claims, including the ones involving western Armenia, as a bad job, because Armenians have not resided there for the last few decades either," he said. P.T. -0--

POLITICAL ANALYST: AZERBAIJANI MILITARY BUDGET BUILDUP IS MERE BLUFF

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 25, 2006

YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. Azerbaijani military budget buildup is nothing more than a mere bluff, an independent political analyst, Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told journalists on Friday.

In his words, allotted money fails to reach destination and come back to the pockets of those allotted it.

The expert pointed out that the military equipment Azerbaijan bought recently from Ukraine and Belarus for $900mln is "scrap metal". He said the tanks bought for $1.2mln each were produced in 1941 and there is no ammunition for them.

"Azerbaijan's armament doesn't outstrip that of Karabakh. More than that - Nagorno Karabakh must be armed 5 times better than Azerbaijan.


"We must do it without looking at international agreements and quotas. First of all, we have to think about own security", Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

Speaking about Azerbaijani army, he said 5 thousand soldiers have died since 1994 of diseases and hunger.

However, the political analyst thinks that the situation can change.

That's why he views it necessary to remain vigilant always. M.V.-0---

Georgia taking steps to undermine US foreign policy

It seems that Georgia has taken a step forward to undermine the United States policy goal of promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region.

As part of Turkey’s good neighbor policy, the Turkish and Azeri governments are ready to loan Georgia interest-free funds to build their share of the Kars-Akhalkalak-Baku railway, which bypasses Armenia and further threatens Armenian national security.

Effectively the Kars-Akhalkalak-Baku railway would link Turkey with Azerbaijan and give Azerbaijan access to arms and other strategic resources so they can attack Armenia.

I would hope that the Armenian Assembly and the ANCA will bring all these facts to Washington's attention and recommend that sanctions and cut of U.S. aid be adopted against Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, since they obviously have no respect for the United States policies in the region, thus should not be rewarded for their lack of respect to Washington with U.S. taxpayers money.

Azerbaijan, Turkey to Fund Georgia Leg of Railway

BAKU (Armenpress)-- Azerbaijan and Turkey will provide interest-free loans to Georgia to finance the construction of the Georgian leg of the proposed Kars-Akhalkalak-Baku railway, a high-level official at the Azeri transportation ministry Sadreddin Mamedov told Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency.

"We made this decision last week during a meeting of the three transpiration ministers. Georgia asked for a long-term interest-free loan and Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed," said Mamedov, adding, however, that it was premature to discuss the exact amount of the loan.

The official added that Georgia accepted plans drawn by a Turkish firm commissioned to design the railway.

The US House of Representatives voted last month to block US taxpayer funding for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process, undermine the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad route through Armenia.

The amendment, spearheaded by Representatives Joe Crowley (D-NY), Ed Royce (R-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA), and adopted as part of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006, prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing any assistance "to develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia." The measure was adopted unanimously by the House Financial Services Committee in June of this year.

The Crowley Amendment is similar to the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006. This measure was introduced in both the House (H.R.3361), by Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and in the Senate (S2461) by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). The House version has 85 cosponsors; the Senate version has been cosponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). Both measures stress that US policy should oppose the "The exclusion of Armenia from regional economic and commercial undertakings in the South Caucasus," noting that such actions "undermine the United States policy goal of promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region."

SILVA KAPUTIKYAN PASSED AWAY

Lragir.am
25 Aug 06

On August 25, around 6 o'clock in the morning the poetess Silva Kaputikyan passed away. Silva Kaputikyan had health problems for a long time. Besides her own works, Silva Kaputikyan was known for her critical attitude to this government and its representatives, and refused the award of the president of Armenia.

I wonder what this is all about?

This reminds me of the Jackson family and their interest in opening up something in Armenia. What ever happened to that?

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA RECEIVES FAMOUS US BUSINESSMAN

Armenpress
Aug 23 2006

YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President Robert Kocharian met today with the US famous businessman, president of "Huntsman" corporation John Huntsman and the delegation headed by him.

Presidential press service informed Armenpress that Huntsman has arrived in Armenia with serious programs which will be carried out in education and health spheres. The president welcomed the ideas of the businessman and said "Everything which is being done by John Huntsman is done with love, devotion and belief."

The US businessman wants to establish a modern oncology center in Armenia. The president said that he is ready to support the implementation of the program which he described as interesting and prospective.

During the meeting the Kocharian also expressed assurance that the effective cooperation established with the businessman will continue in future and his ideas will be brought to life.

The interlocutors also referred to the Armenian-USA relations and with the request of the guest the president also talked about the economic situation in Armenia, its priorities and development prospects.

HEAD OF ARMAVIA AIRLINE DISAGREES WITH IAC CONCLUSIONS

Yerevan, August 23. ArmInfo. Head of the Armenian national airline Armavia, Mikhail Baghdasarov, categorically disagrees with the conclusions of the International Aviation Committee (IAC) on the results of the investigation of A- 320 crash near Sochi on May 3. To recap, under IAC made a conclusion that the reason of the crash was human factor, i.e. the faults of the crew.

In an interview to Haykakan Zhamanak, M. Baghdasarov says: "What was shown to us was not right." He says none of the Armenian party representatives participating in the investigation have signed any document so far. In such conditions, no final resolution is possible, he says. The fact that IAC published its version of the resolution is a gross violation of international aviation rules. Under these rules, a resolution on the results of a crash investigation is made subject to the fact that the resolution is final. While, it requires signatures of all the parties of the investigation, Baghdasarov says.