Author: Andres-Papazian

NEWSPAPER EDITOR’S SHOOTER CONVICTED IN TURKEY
Ayla Albayrak

Wall Street Journal

July 25, 2011

AFP/Getty Images A photo from Jan. 24, 2007, shows policemen escorting
Ogun Samast at a court in Istanbul. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced
Mr. Samast to almost 23 years in prison in the murder of newspaperman
Hrant Dink.More than four years after Turkish-Armenian newspaper
editor Hrant Dink was gunned down in central Istanbul, his killer
was sentenced Monday to 22 years and 10 months in prison for murder
and the illegal possession of a weapon.

Ogun Samast, was only 17 years old when he shot Mr. Dink dead in front
of the offices of his small Armenian newspaper, Agos, in January 2007.

The assassination triggered widespread outrage among many Turks who
saw the killing as the work of Turkey’s so-called deep state.

Mr. Samast was arrested within two days after the murder, but the trial
went on for over four years and was criticized by Mr. Dink’s family
and lawyers, as well as by international human rights organizations,
for an alleged failure to investigate evidence that a large network,
including Turkish military and police officers, were behind the
murder plot.

Last year the European Court of Human Rights concluded that Turkish
officials had not protected Mr. Dink after he received death threats,
despite his request. The court also found that there had not been a
thorough investigation against the security forces who knew Mr. Dink’s
life was in danger.

After that, in a separate trial in the city of Trabzon that concluded
in June, a Turkish court sentenced two military officers to six
months in prison for ignoring intelligence that may have prevented
Mr. Dink’s murder. Four other officials were also given four-month
sentences for neglecting their duties.

Due to Mr. Samast’s young age at the time of the murder, the trial was
recently moved to a juvenile court. “Taking into account that this was
a juvenile court, we are pleased with the length of his sentence. This
decision is important in preventing similar crimes in the future,” said
Inci Isbulur, a lawyer for Mr. Dink’s family, in a telephone interview.

Mr. Samast still faces trial for membership in an illegal organization,
and the main murder trial continues against other 19 suspects.

Mr. Samast himself has said he was provoked to kill Mr. Dink, whom he
only knew from ultranationalist website articles that described the
Armenian writer as “a traitor to the nation” and an “enemy of Turks.”

Mr. Dink was known for his outspoken articles on Turkish-Armenian
relations.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA TO HOLD INTERNATIONAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL

news.am
July 25, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenia plans to hold international circus festival after
Leonid Yengibaryan, the famous clown, art manager of the Yerevan
circus Sos Petrosyan told at a press conference on Sunday.

“I have always dreamed to hold an international circus festival after
Yengibarayan. Currently we carry out united projects with professionals
of the sphere for such a huge event. My son, who is also a circus
man, lives in Germany, and runs negotiations with professionals
abroad. Participants from Germany, France, and Netherlands will take
part in the festival,” Petrosyan told but added nothing when the
festival will be held.

Yerevan circus plans to launch restoration works this year. However,
the circus will work during this period. The last performance will
be at the end of July and grand opening will be at the end of 2013.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIAN FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN DEPORTED FROM AZERBAIJAN

news.am
July 25, 2011
Armenia

BAKU. – Russian football players of Armenian origin were deported
from Azerbaijan.

Trainer of Azerbaijani football club Kyapyaz Mekhman Allakhverdiyev
went to Russian city Armavir to invite football players into
Azerbaijan, SalamNews informs.

The trainer invited from Russian FC Torpedo two football players to
Gyandzha. However, he did not know of their Armenian origin. After
the players arrived in the Gyandzha airport, State border agency did
not allow them to enter the city. They deported the two players with
Russian passports but of Armenian origin.

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJANI DEPUTY PM: OUR KARABAKH NEGOTIATIONS ARE ONLY SHOW FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Armen Hareyan

HULIQ.com
July 25, 2011

In a recent interview with Turkish media, the Deputy Prime Minister
of Azerbaijan Mr. Ali Hasanov has made a shockingly open statement,
admitting that “Baku is negotiating with Yerevan solely for the sake
of negotiating, as Azerbaijan would be labelled an ‘anti-democratic
state’ if it did not participate in the meetings”.

Hasanov then went on to speculate about Turkey’s role in a new war
about Karabakh: “We always say that if things keep going this way,
we could declare war. We would have liked to see Turkey behind us,
but there is international law.” Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister
also revealed other backgrounds of his country’s foreign policy in a
rarely open manner, notably towards Cyprus, Iran and Russia. Hasanov
made these remarks speaking to Turkish-language Hurriyet newspaper.

The Secretary General of European Friends of Armenia Dr. Michael
Kambeck commenting on Azerbaijan’s Deputy PM’s remarks said “Hasanov’s
statements match with the actions of his government. Baku has torpedoed
the ‘High-hope’ summit of Kazan at the last moment and experts say they
have now also rejected the post-Kazan OSCE Minsk Group proposal. In
March this year, they have rejected the OSCE proposed confidence
building measure for removing snipers, which Armenia accepted. And
despite complaining about victims on their side, Baku does not
allow the conclusion of OSCE investigations into the incidents,
violating the 2011 Sochi agreement. Now they are clearly testing the
international reactions to such war statements. Along with redoubled
lobbying campaigns all around the EU, it seems that Azerbaijan is
simply trying hard to stall the OSCE Minsk Group and remove all
obstacles for war. Rationally, this is in nobody’s interest!”

Last month Azerbaijan hampered the progress on Karabakh at the Kazan
summit by proposing 10 new amendments to the document on the table.

Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan had said a day before the summit
that if Azerbaijan does not come up with new proposals, Armenia will be
ready to sign the document leading to peace agreement between Armenia,
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

After the Kazan meeting the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has
made new proposals to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Both
countries have replied back. The content of the new proposals and
the replies is kept secret.

From: A. Papazian

TURKEY JAILS ARMENIAN JOURNALIST DINK’S KILLER FOR 22 YEARS
Emre Peker

Bloomberg

July 25, 2011

A Turkish man was sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in jail for
the murder of ethnic-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

Ogun Samast was found guilty of homicide and possessing arms without
a license, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency, which
cited an Istanbul juvenile court decision.

Dink was shot three times in the head and neck outside the offices
of his Agos newspaper on Jan. 19, 2007. Scores of people have
been arrested in connection with his assassination, including six
gendarmerie officers. Prosecutors also questioned police officers
and a former governor of Istanbul.

Samast was tried by a juvenile court because he was under 18 when he
committed the murder. Dink’s family is charging that security forces
in the northern province of Trabzon, where Samast came from, and in
Istanbul failed to act on intelligence that Dink would be assassinated.

From: A. Papazian

KILLER OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH JOURNALIST IS JAILED

,,15264306,00.html
July 25, 2011
Germany

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Dink was one of the
most prominent voices of Turkey’s Armenian community

A Turkish court has sentenced the murderer of ethnic Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink to almost 23 years in prison. Dink was editor
of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and was shot dead in
broad daylight in 2007.

The murderer of an Armenian journalist has been sentenced to nearly
23 years in prison by a court in Istanbul.

Armenian Hrant Dink was the editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian
weekly newspaper Agos, and Turkey’s best known Armenian voice abroad.

Dink had angered nationalists with articles referring to a Turkish
“genocide” of Armenians in 1915 – a highly controversial topic in
Turkey. He was shot in broad daylight in January 2007 as he left his
office in Istanbul.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Thousands protested in Istanbul following Dink’s death

The suspect, Ogun Samast confessed to the crime and was initially
sentenced to life imprisonment. However the court reduced the sentence
to 21 and a half years, as he was underage at the time of the murder.

An additional 16 month jail term was awarded for possession of an
unlicensed weapon.

The case sent shockwaves through Turkey when it emerged that both
police and paramilitary forces knew of an assassination plot to kill
Dink but failed to act. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
ruled in September 2010 that the Turkish state had failed to protect
Dink’s life and his freedom of expression. The Turkish government
was ordered to pay compensation to his family.

In June, jail terms of between four and six months were given to
paramilitary policemen for negligence over the murder. The men were
found guilty of ignoring intelligence pertaining to a plot to kill
the outspoken journalist.

Author: Catherine Bolsover (AFP, Reuters, dpa) Editor: Andreas Illmer

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN TEAMS PLAY DRAW IN WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP – PHOTOS
Elmir Aliyev

news.az
July 25, 2011
Azerbaijan

The matches of the penultimate eighth round of the world team chess
championship have been held in Ningbo (China) today.

Azerbaijani team was playing against Armenia. The match ended in
a draw-2-2.

Vugar Hashimov played a draw with white figures against Sergey
Movsesyan. The match ended at the 31st move. On the first board
Teymur Rajabov played a draw with Levon Aronyan at the 33rd move. On
the fourth board at the 45th move, Shahriyar Mammadyarov made Gabriel
Sarkisyan capitulate and led our team forward. However, Rauf Mammadov
failed to resist Vladimir Akopyan’s attack on the third board. The
Armenian native of Baku who was playing with white figures won
the game.

In a round before the finish the Azerbaijani team has seven points. We
are seventh. Sixth position is the maximum our team can hope for. In
the last round, our opponent will be the obvious outsider of the
tournament-the team from Egypt.

As for the fight for championship, Armenia is leading with 13 points.

China and Ukraine can outstrip Armenia since they are lagging behind
just by 2 points. However, to this end Ukrainians will have to beat
Armenia 4-0. China’s chances for leadership are higher. They will
have to beat Hungary and wait for Armenia’s defeat.

From: A. Papazian

EREVAN
Fanny Ardant à Tsitsernagapert

Invitée d’honneur du Festival annuel de l’Abricot d’Or (11-17 juillet
2011) à Erevan où elle présentait ses deux films « Cendre et sang » et
le court métrage « Chimères absentes », Fanny Ardant, dont une partie
de la famille est d’origine arménienne, est allée se recueillir au
Mémorial du Génocide des Arméniens de Tsitsernagapert.
dimanche 24 juillet 2011,
Jean [email protected]

From: A. Papazian

ARCHEOLOGIE
Découverte d’un site archéologique datant de près de 6 000 ans a la
frontière entre l’Arménie et le Haut Karabagh
il appartiendrait à la civilisation de Kour-Araxe

Près de la frontière entre l’Arménie et le Haut Karabagh, des
archéologues Arméniens viennent de découvrir un site datant de
l’époque du bronze ancien, à près de 4 000 ans avant J.-C.
L’infirmation a été diffuse par Hagop Simonian, le directeur du Centre
de recherches archéologiques et historiques d’Arménie. « L’habitation
a été découverte par nos équipes d’archéologues le 22 juillet. Les
autorités locales le savaient et nous avaient demandé de réaliser des
recherches sur le terrain. Il apparait après étude qu’une partie du
site fut endommagé suite à des travaux agricoles. Mais nous avons
découvert divers objets qui s’apparentent à la civilisation très
ancienne de Kour-Araxe » dit Hagop Simonian. Les fouilles continuent.
L’équipe sera rejointe sous peu par des spécialistes Français et des
archéologues expérimentés d’Erévan. Le site découvert est à 7
kilomètres du plus proche village, Khnadzakh. Selon H. Simonian les
objets découverts seront remis au Musée d’Histoire d’Arménie ainsi
qu’à d’autres musées.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 24 juillet 2011,
Krikor [email protected]

From: A. Papazian

Court Pardons Women “Pimps” at Gyumri Sauna

Yeranuhi Soghoyan

13:00, July 23, 2011

The three women appearing as defendants, all former employees of
Sashik’s Sauna in Gyumri, had been charged with pimping – An
individual who, for a fee, supplies another individual with a
prostitute for sexual purposes.

Two of the women had been charged and found guilty of the same crime
in the past and fined 350,000 [$960] and 300,000 [$820] AMD.

Knar Malkhasyan, a woman in her 50’s, used to work as an administrator
at the sauna. She’s one of the two with a pimping past.

She is charged with inviting Naira Lazginyan, Arevik Hambardzumyan and
other prostitutes to the sauna to ply their trade. Malkhasyan is said
to have offered the women separate cubicles to engage in sex with
clients.

The two other defendants, Anahit Mnatsakanyan and Narine Hakobyan, are
alleged to have assisted Malkhasyan in the business.

Before the trail got underway, all three defendants petitioned the
court to grant a “speedy trial” and accepted the charges against them.
Presiding Judge Harutyun Movsesyan sustained the motion since there
were no objections from the prosecution.

Prosecutor Saloyan took the floor and stated that pimping and
prostitution had sharply risen in Armenia over the past few years and
urges the court to find all three defendants guilty as charged. He
asked that Malkhasyan been sentenced to 2 years and six months;
Mnatsakanyan – 2 years; and Hakobyan to be fined 400,000 AMD [$1,093].

He then motioned the court to pardon all three under the guidelines of
the general amnesty adopted by the RA National Assembly on May 5, 2011
on the occasion of Armenia’s 20th year of independence.

Public Defender Aramayis Hayrapetyan stated that he fully agreed with
the pardon proposal since all three women had expressed regret for
their actions and that they had been compelled to do what they did
based on their difficult socio-economic situation.

The three defendants, in their closing remarks, stated that they were
truly sorry for their actions and pleaded for the court to pardon
them. The women promised never to engage in such business again.

After a one hour recess Judge Movsesyan read out his verdict.

Malkhasyan and Mnatsakanyan were found guilty as charged and sentenced
to 1.5 and 1 year respectively. Hakobyan was fined 300,000 [$820] AMD.

All three were granted amnesty,

P.S. With permission from the judge and in my capacity as a reporter,
I shot some photos of the proceedings and the litigants. During the
recess, one of the defendants, Anahit Mnatsakanyan, approached me and
asked who I was.

When she found out that I was a reporter, Mnatsakanyan stated that I
was required to have asked for permission before photographing them
since they wanted to avoid any publicity.

My mind then went back a few years to an incident at the same
courtroom and a group of women charged with the same crime. A local TV
station had covered the sentencing and aired the case on the evening
news.

A week later, the women defendants publicly thanked the court for the
publicity – their client base had grown as a result.

From: A. Papazian