Djavakhk Armenians condemn prosecution of Melik Raisyan, Georgian ex-MP

The Coordinating Council for Protection of Rights of Djavakhk Armenians issued a statement, in which it condemned "a new wave of political repression in Djavakhk, initiated by Georgian authorities." The reason for the statement was the prosecution of Melik Raisyan, Georgian ex-MP from the Akhalkalaki District, and Georgy Mkhchyan, Djavakhk activist.

Melik Raisyan and Georgy Mkhchyan face charges of forgery in the course of privatization of the House of Household Services in the city of Akhalkalaki in 2005. Melik Raisyan was twice elected to the Parliament of Georgia from the "Unified National Movement", the party of President Mikhail Saakashvili. The criminal case was instituted after Melik Raisyan and Georgy Mkhchyan became members of the coalition "Georgian Dream", led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. At present, Georgy Mkhchyan is under arrest, and on May 27, Melik Raisyan was put on the wanted list, the of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The statement of the Coordinating Council for Protection of the Rights of Djavakhk Armenians emphasizes that these actions of the Georgian authorities take place on the eve of the Parliamentary elections in Georgia and are directed against Armenian public figures and activists of Djavakhk, adhering to the oppositional views.

The Coordinating Council calls on the Georgian authorities to refrain during the pre-election period from political persecution of Armenian activists of Djavakhk, adhering to the oppositional views, to provide realistic conditions for holding free and fair elections, to immediately stop the prosecution of Melik Raisyan and his supporters.

The statement also contains a demand to release Vaagn Chakhalyan, the political figure of Djavakhk, sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, and to take steps to solve the social and political linguistic, educational, religious, and cultural problems of the Djavakhk and Georgian Armenians.