Opposition Court Cases

E-Channel reports on the trial of the chairperson of HHSh in Armenia’s third largest city of Vanadzor. Ruben Voskanyan was arrested after the 1 March clashes in Yerevan and like many other supporters of former president Levon Ter-Petrossian has agreed to an “accelerated” trial. Present in the courtroom were representatives of international organizations and other members of the radical opposition.

The representative of the general prosecutor’s office Hakob Gharakhanyan accused him of questioning the election results with the purpose of supporting Levon Ter-Petrossian, sowing mistrust about them among the public at large, as well as recruiting people in Vanadzor for taking part in the illegal mass protest actions in Yerevan and bribing them with 1200 dram, taking them to Yerevan, and thus contributing to the formation of the illusion of support to LTP on behalf of large segments of the society.

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In the course of judicial pleadings, the prosecutor noted that the defendant “has given objective testimony, helping the investigation and sincerely regretting for the offence he has committed.” Then the prosecutor presented a mediation about imposing a 200 thousand dram fine, based on the 1st part of the article 225, and depriving of liberty for 3 years, based on the 1st part of the article 316, by conditionally not implementing the punishment for 2 years.