DEFENCE LAWYERS OF ARMAN BABAJANIAN INTEND TO APPEAL TO RA CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Noyan Tapan
Mar 12 2007
YEREVAN, MARCH 12, NOYAN TAPAN. On March 11 the defence lawyers of
Arman Babajanian, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Zhamanak
Yerevan", received back their cassation appeal. According to them,
the appeal was returned with gross violations of law: the appeal was
submitted on January 22, and the decision to accept or reject it must
be made within 10 days, i.e. by February 1.
In response to inquiry of lawyer Z. Postanjian, there was a verbal
answer on March 6 that the RA Cassation Court has not yet made any
decision. After applying in writing to the Cassation court on March
7, a backdate decision – of February 26 – on returing the appeal was
received. The lawyers also drew attention to the fact that the decision
about rejection of the appeal is given with standard motivation. The
defence lawyers intend to appeal to the RA Constitutional Court and
the European Court of Human Rights. Violations of some articles of the
RA Constitution will form the basis of the application: particularly,
by the Constitution, the prosecutor’s office has to power to conduct a
preliminary investigation, and the Criminal Procedure Code’s article
giving such power contradicts the Constitution. The lawyers also
intend to dispute the constitutionality of abstract formulation
regarding the appeal’s return, as well as the constitutionality of
power of the interdepartmental commission that releases from criminal
responsibility for draft evasion.