13:08, 6 June 2009

Oppositional paper to pay 10,000 US dollars to family of Armenian ex-President

The general court of Yerevan communities Centre-Nork-Marash has passed a decision to partially satisfy the claim lodged by the family of ex-President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan against the oppositional newspaper "Armenian Time"; that is the paper shall pay 3.62 million drams (about 10,000 US dollars) to Kocharyan family, instead of claimed 16 million drams (42,000 US dollars).

The court has also obliged the paper to publish a refutation of the earlier published message that a couple of days before the New Year in Dubai local police arrested Robert Kocharyan's younger son Levon for bad behaviour in a public place; the guy was under strong alcoholic intoxication.

The claimant party presented Levon Kocharyan's passport, which has no exit visa marks after 2007 and also materials received with the help of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Armenian consulate in Dubai that the younger son of the ex-President was never criminally prosecuted and never had crime attributes in his behaviour.
The newspaper plans to appeal against the verdict at a higher judicial instance.

Author: Lylyt Ovanisyan

Source: CK correspondent