Office of Helsinki Civil Assembly began legal action against Armenian Minister of Defense

On November, 11, a trial in camera on a suit of Wanadzor office of Helsinki Civil Assembly against the Minister of Defense Seiran Oganyan was held in the Administrative Court of Armenia.

The reason for the human rights activists' appeal was the Minister's refusal to provide data on the number of the servicemen of statutory and contract service who perished in Armenian army in 2009.

"The Minister of Defense refused to provide the requested data explaining that this information was a secret one according to the order of the Minister of Defense. We submitted a request to the Minister to provide the order itself declaring this information secret", lawyer Artak Zeinalyan, representative of Wanadzor office of Helsinki Civil Assembly reported on November, 11. 

Vage Ovannisyan, representative of the Minister of Defense in court, refused to comment on the matter. Officials of the Ministry of Defense explained that the order establishing the above mentioned information as secret, was also secret, in its turn, radio "Azatutiun" informs.

Wanadzor office of Helsinki Civil Assembly is asking the court to acknowledge the fact of violating the right of receiving information and also to acknowledge the respective part of this order invalid, Armenia Today reports.

According to the data conveyed to the journalists on November, 8, by Arthur Sakuntz, Head of Wanadzor office of Helsinki Civil Assembly, in 2010, 31 men perished in Armenian army, 8 of them from snipers' shooting, "the rest generally from harassment".