“It is not a Karabakh issue, it is a legal issue.” Edmon Marukyan
00:00, September 15, 2011 | Press Release | Right to Fair Trial | PoliceThe Chamber of Advocates has discussed in the board meeting and sent a condemning statement to the RA and NKR Prosecutor General’s Offices, about the violence used towards lawyer Edmon Marukyan by the “Shushi” Penitentiary officer.
Rouben Sahakyan, Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates, informed www.hra.am, adding that the statement has not been published, based on the NKR interests. Edmon Marukyan, who was also present at the Chamber board meeting, does not agree that the statement on the incident of hindering the lawyer’s activity harms NKR. “It is not a Karabakh issue, it is a legal issue,”- says the advocate. He notes that, in his assessment, the Chamber of Advocates did not undertake any public action to protect its member, although he does not need it.
“Moreover, I have received the note from the NKR Prosecutor General after the Chamber’s statement, where he was threatened to be forcefully brought to Police for giving out the testimonies. So, it is up to you to judge how effective the statement by the Chamber of Advocates was,” Edmon Marukyan told www.hra.am.
Let us remind that at the away court hearing in Stepanakert Edmon Marukyan’s client Manvel Hazroyan, upon hearing the promulgation of the life sentence verdict, threw a plastic bottle of mineral water at the Syunik Region Court of Common Jurisdiction Judge
H. Davtyan. The police officers carrying out the duties of judicial bailiffs, who where the employees of “Shushi” Penitentiary, had put handcuffs on Hazroyan, removed the journalists and the client’s relatives, participating in the hearing, and had beaten up Hazroyan at the presence of the judge and advocate Edmon Marukyan. They had dragged the advocate shouting at him and trying to take him out of the courtroom.
Later defendant Hazroyan was sat into the car while beating him and taken to the penitentiary. The NKR Prosecutor General initiated a case against the RA citizen Hazroyan and invited his advocate Edmon Marukyan to Stepanakert to give testimonies, otherwise has threatened “to forcefully bring” him. Statements, presented by Marukyan over the violence used against him and his defendant and hindering the work of the journalists, have been left without consequences։
Mery Aleksanyan
Source՝ www.hra.am