Armenians of France call Georgia to restore Chakhalyan's rights

The Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) calls the authorities of Georgia to stop the unfair trial and restore all the rights of the Armenian activist Dzhavakhk Vaagn Chakhalyan. The Tbilisi Court will consider the appeal against the verdict to the activist prescribing ten years of imprisonment.

The French Armenians also call to cancel the anti-constitutional ban on defence of Georgian citizens by foreign advocates and to exhibit respect for the legal obligations outgoing from international obligations of Georgia, including from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Let us note here that the EU is concerned of the situation with national minorities in Georgia, which "are exposed to language, social and religious discrimination." Special attention is addressed to the region of Georgia inhabited by Armenians. The European MP Silvi Guillaume has expressed her concern of the fate of the Armenian political activist Vaagn Chakhalyan who is in Georgian prison "on doubtful charges."

The CCAF has vested the advocate and expert of the Department on Legal Matters of the Council of Europe Phillip Kalfayan with the powers to be present as an observer at the litigation at Tbilisi on the appeal against Chakhalyan's verdict, as reported by the "News Armenia".

The "PanARMENIAN.Net" reports that in the opinion of French Armenians, "the translation of the hearings into the Armenian language is incomplete and of poor quality that prevents the defendant and his Armenian advocate from full-fledged participation in debates."

Let us remind you that according to Chakhalyan's advocates, the activist was severely beaten in early August by employees of the Tbilisi prison. The advocates view "this disgusting fact as a specific 'response' of Georgian authorities to the wide wave of public discontent caused by the recently passed unfair verdict to Chakhalyan, and, in particular, to the protest action in Paris at the embassy of Georgia on April 14.