19:00, 4 August 2009

Journalist Babadzhanyan set free ahead of term in Armenia

Today, at about 4 p.m. local time, Arman Babadzhanyan, editor-in-chief of the oppositional newspaper "Zhamanak" (Time) was released ahead of schedule from his imprisonment in Armenia. Emma Gabrielyan, coordinator of "Zhamanak", told about it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to her story, Arman Babadzhanyan is going to hurry up with his treatment; in particular, he needs a surgery.

The court has applied the accelerated procedure to consider and satisfy the petition of the Criminal-Corrective Service of the Ministry of Justice on his conditional early relief. The petition was lodged on August 4.

"With account of numerous requests of mass media about conditional early relief of convict Babadzhanyan, the independent commission on conditional early relief made a decision at its session on August 4 to replace the remaining term by a more lenient punishment. The independent commission also approved the petition of the administrative commission of the Criminal-Corrective Establishment (CCE) about Babadzhanyan's conditional early relief," said Arsen Babayan, press secretary of the Department of CCEs.

Author: Lilit Ovanisyan

Source: CK correspondent