ECTHR IN FAVOR OF SEFILYAN
Story from Lragir.am News:
Published: 10:25:56 – 04/10/2012
The European Court of Human Rights judged Zhirair Sefilyan’s
application against the Republic of Armenia. The court ruled just
satisfaction of EUR 6,000 for his detention for making calls for a
violent overthrow of the government during a speech he had given at
a meeting organized by the Union of Armenian Volunteers.
Zhirayr Sefilyan, a Lebanese citizen who settled in Armenia over two
decades ago, is due to receive the financial compensation more than
four years after completing a two-year prison sentence given for
allegedly illegal arms possession.
Zhirayr Sefilyan and another well-known veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh
war were arrested in December 2006 after holding the founding congress
of their Union of Armenian Volunteers, a pressure strongly opposed
to any territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s National Security Service claimed they planned to mount
an armed uprising against the government ahead of the May 2007
parliamentary elections. Both men denied the charges as politically
motivated.
Sefilyan was cleared of the coup charge during his subsequent trial.
But he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally possessing
a pistol which he claimed to have received as a gift from a former
commander of the Karabakh Armenian army.
In a verdict announced this week, the European Court of Human
Rights court ruled that Sefilyan was kept under pre-trial arrest
for eight months without sufficient legal grounds. It said the NSS
also wiretapped the oppositionist’s phone conversations in the months
leading up to his arrest, in violation of the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Sefilyan’s lawyer, Vahe Grigoryan, portrayed the ruling on Wednesday
as further proof that the Armenian authorities handled the case with
“disgraceful violations” of the due process. Grigoryan said former
president Robert Kocharyan must bear “political responsibility” for
ordering his client’s arrest. The lawyer said he will also appeal to
President Serzh Sargsyan and state prosecutors to sack law-enforcement
officials who dealt with the case.
Sefilyan supported former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan in the February
2008 presidential election. His organization was among about two
dozen opposition groups that joined an opposition alliance set up by
Ter-Petrosyan after the election. Sefilyan broke with that alliance
and formed a new opposition group, the Sardarapat movement, in 2009.
The small group stands for more radical methods of political struggle.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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