Another obstacle is the ongoing trial of 31 Dashnak party members and supporters accused of plotting the violent overthrow of the government. The 31 men, among them popular Dashnak leader Vahan Hovannisian, were arrested in July 1995. The trial, condemned as politically motivated by the opposition and human rights groups, has been going on for almost two years and is expected to end shortly. The original charge of coup-plotting has been dropped but state prosecutors have nonetheless continued to demand that the key defendant, Hovannisian, be sentenced to seven years in prison. Relations between the authorities and the ARF are unlikely to normalize unless Hovannisian is set free. Very few believe in the independence of Armenia’s judiciary and most are convinced that the trial of the 31 is politically motivated and will be resolved only if Ter-Petrosian personally makes a “political” decision. Some observers are becoming suspicious about the slowness of the reinstatement process and expressing doubts about the president’s real intentions regarding the Dashnaks.

http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=4&issue_id=235&article_id=2672