Edik Baghdasaryan
Tigran Sargsyan is in Panic

[August 27, 2007]

On May 25 of this year, the Economic Court, Judge A. Sargsyan presiding, issued a ruling (already in force) which could signal a turning point in the operations of the Central Bank (CB) ... [full story]

Vahe Sarukhyan
They're Not Allowing the Artist to Work In Her Own Apartment

[August 20, 2007]

For artist Arpineh Tokmajyan the question remains, “ This is the issue. If a citizen of Armenia doesn't disturb her neighbors, does she have the right to work in her apartment?” Juletta Harutyunyan ... [full story]

Vahe Sarukhanyan
Sefilyan, Malkhasyan and Aroyan convicted

[August 6, 2007]

Today, on August 6 th , Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan of the Kentron and Nork Marash Court of First Instance handed down guilty verdicts against Zhirayr Sefilyan, Commander of the Shushi Special Battalion, Vardan Malkhasyan, a member of the “Fatherland and Honor” political party and Karabakh freedom fighter Vahan Aroyan ... [full story]

Sara Petrosyan
They Picked The “Weakest” Judge To Punish

[August 6, 2007]

On July 11, 2007, the Council of Justice of the Republic of Armenia examined the petition of the Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan that calls for a disciplinary review of Judges Y. Darbinyan, A. Hovhannisyan and A. Poghosyan of the Criminal Courts of Appeals and Judge Lernik Atanyan of the Syunik Provincial Court of First Instance ... [full story]

Vahe Sarukhanyan
New Developments in the Arzoumanian Case

[July 30, 2007]

As reported earlier, a court decision has extended the pre-trial detention of former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian until September 7. On June 20 th the Criminal Court of Appeals was to consider Arzumanian's attorney Hovik Arsenyan's appeal against the decision of the Court of First Instance ... [full story]

Sara Petrosyan
The Angry Judge

[July 30, 2007]

Judge Pargev Ohanyan of the Kentron and Nork Marash Court of First Instance decided to imprison defendant Andranik Sargsyan simply because his lawyer failed to turn up for the court sessions. Andranik Sargsyan stood accused of stealing two suits “of considerable value, estimated at 17,500 drams.”... [full story]

Ararat Davtyan
Constitutional Court Decision Ignored

[July 30, 2007]

On October 4, 2006 the Constitutional Court declared void those points in the law regarding social security cards which outline the mandatory nature of this card for Armenian citizens. This meant that each person had the right to choose whether or not they wanted to have a social security card and nobody had the right to force anyone to present the card in any given situation ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Cows Are Victims of Politics

[July 23, 2007]

On May 12, 2006, the village of Gihut in the Kashatagh region lost its electricity. That day, high voltage electricity cables had fallen on two of Vahram Manvelyan's cows and killed them. “Every day we take the cows out, this is where our village land is, and in the evening I go and bring them back. That evening when I went to bring cows back ..." [full story]

Vahe Sarukhanyan
The Judge Shows No Sign of Impartiality

[July 16, 2007]

The trial of Zhirayr Sefilyan, Vardan Malkhasyan and Vahan Aroyan, which had begun on July 2, was resumed on July 11 at the Court of First Instance of the Kentron and Nork-Marash districts of Yerevan. After Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan had rejected numerous challenges submitted by the defense attorneys and after several statements had been made ... [full story]

Sara Petrosyan
Armenia to Pay Its First Monetary Compensation to a Citizen

[July 9, 2007]

On June 28, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued its first verdict against the Republic of Armenia, which included a fine of 4,000 Euros ... [full story]

Ararat Davtyan
The Trial Is Continuing

[June 11, 2007]

Grigor Igitian is accused of misappropriation of American-Armenian benefactor George Najarian's property. The hearings of the case are taking place in the court of first instance of Kentron [Center] and Nork-Marash districts, and the trial has been continuing since March ... [full story]

“The Police Killed My Brother”

Ararat Davtyan

[May 21, 2007]

Lilit Ghulyan is sure of it. Her brother Levon was interrogated repeatedly over the course of three days by the police and prosecutors, and then his family was told that he had died attempting to escape ... [full story]

“National Identity Can Get You Killed in Turkey or Azerbaijan”

Lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan Proved It in Court in Budapest

[April 30, 2007]

Nazeli Vardanyan, a member of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia, represented the interests of army officer Gurgen Margaryan's legal heir during the famous much-followed trial in Budapest ... [full story]

Inga Karapetyan, Greg Agopian
Justice for Sale - How judicial corruption works in Armenia

[April 30, 2007]

On 07 April 2007 modifications to the Code of Civil Procedure went into effect, one of which was the repeal of Article 9.3. The following article reveals that the true reason for that change was to allow judges more freedom in collecting bribes ... [full story]

Sara Petrosyan
Lawyer Fraudulently Takes Possession of Someone Else’s Apartment

[April 16, 2007]

In 1997 Yerevan resident Ruben Hayrapetyan accepted compensation from his brother Armen Hayrapetyan for his half of the apartment (Apartment 22, 14 Lepsius Street) that they had inherited from their father and relinquished his portion of the inheritance ... [full story]

Ararat Davtyan
Interrogation of Witness Was Not Finished: the Trial Is Continuously Being Postponed

[April 16, 2007]

Grigor Igitian was charged with misappropriation of American-Armenian philanthropist George Najarian's property. The interrupted trial chaired by Zhora Vardanian resumed on April 2 in the court of first instance of Kentron [Center] and Nork-Marash districts ... [full story]

Claim against ROA Government

[April 9, 2007]

Global Gold mining company submitted its claim to the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a body adjunct to the World Bank, against the Government of the Republic of Armenia (ROA) ... [full story]

Sara Petrosyan
A Successful Businessman and a Not-So-Successful Businessman Fight over the Noy Trademark

[April 9, 2007]

The Bjni Mineral Water Plant, owned by businessman and parliament member Khachatur Sukiasyan, has produced Noy spring water since 1999, and in 2000 the Intellectual Property Agency (IPA) of Armenia registered its trademark for producing mineral water in accordance with Class 32 of the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICGS) ... [full story]

Lena Nazaryan
Other People are Living in an Apartment Bought for a Children’s Home Graduate

[March 26, 2007]

Children's home graduate Artur Barseghyan was scheduled to received a one-room apartment under the State Aid to Children's Home Graduates program in 2004 (See also: Beneficiaries Are To Blame, Says Ministry). But for four years now other people have been living in the apartment that was purchased for Artur, and they insist that the apartment belongs to them ... [full story]

Ararat Davtyan
The Najarian Case Goes To Court Again

[March 26, 2007]

The hearings began on March 15 in the Court of First Instance of Yerevan's Kentron and Nork-Marsh Districts, Judge Zhora Vardanyan presiding. For the last three years the Prosecutor's Office has refused to file charges against Grigor Igityan for committing fraud in order to gain control over the Najarians' property ... [full story]

Vahe Sarukhanyan
Minister Wins, Residents Lose in Court

[March 5, 2007]

We reported on the destruction of the green zone between the residential apartment buildings at 19 Agayan Street and 56 Teryan Street in central Yerevan and launching of construction by the Nushikyan Association in the February 5 issue of Hetq (See: Residents Sue Mayor Zakharyan and Minister Ayvazyan) ... [full story]

Vahe Sarukhanyan, Edik Baghdasaryan
Residents Sue Mayor Zakharyan and Minister Ayvazyan

[February 12, 2007]

The green zone that once existed the buildings at 19 Aghayan and 56 Teryan Streets has now become a construction site. Although the 516 square-meter territory was only fenced off in December 2006 ... [full story]

Varduhi Zakaryan
Pimp Sentenced to Five Years In Prison

[February 12, 2007]

On January 31 st a four-month criminal trial involving pimping and human trafficking came to an end in the Court of First Instance of Yerevan's Shengavit district. In 2006 Mayranush Harutyunyan, Susanna Nikoghosyan, and Ruzanna Baghdasaryan were charged by prosecutors with violating the Article 261of the Criminal Code of the Republic Armenia ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Bagrat Petrosyan Fabricated the Case against the Virabyan Brothers

[January 15, 2007]

On September 6, 2006 Shahen Hovasapyan, who headed the State Tax Service's Department of Investigation, was murdered in his car by a remote-controlled explosive device. Seven days later brothers Armen and Gurgen Virabyan were arrested and on September 16 they were charged with murder ... [full story]

Haykush Aslanyan
The Mayor of Nalbandyan Village Assassinated

[January 8, 2007]

The head of the administration of the village of Nalbandyan in the Armavir Marz, Roland Mkrtchyan, was killed in his courtyard on December 19 at about 3:00 or 3:15 in the morning. His wife Zoya Asatryan said that her husband had been at the funeral of a fellow villager until late that evening ... [full story]

Criminal Case Launched Following Hetq Article

[December 25, 2006]

We have been informed by Mihran Minasyan, who heads the anti-corruption department at the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia, that following our publication of the article Armenia Does Not Need Foreigners, a criminal case was opened on December 7, 2006 in accordance with Article 311 (Taking bribes) and Article 313 (Bribery mediation) of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The preliminary investigation is currently underway ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Shahen Hovsepyan's Murder Still Unsolved

[December 11, 2006]

On September 6, Shahen Hovasapyan, who headed the State Tax Service's Department of Investigation, was murdered in his car by a remote-controlled explosive device. Brothers Armen and Gurgen Virabyan are currently the only suspects in the crime. Armen Virabyan, 39, worked under Shahen Hovasapyan as head of Department 7 at the tax service ... [full story]

Radical Breakthrough in the Najarian Case

[October 16, 2006]

In August 2003, US citizen George Najarian appealed to the president, prosecutor general, and foreign minister of Armenia informing them that Armenian citizen Grigor Igityan had deceitfully taken possession of plots of land with buildings and a photo shop he owned in Yerevan. On the basis of these appeals, a criminal case was launched by the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office ... [full story]

The State Pays Damages to Journalists

[June 19, 2006]

An event has occurred that is unprecedented in the history of the relationship between the Armenian mass media and the government. A suit brought by the Investigative Journalists NGO in 2004 against the Yerevan Mayor's Office for refusing to provide the organization with an open information has ended in victory ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Two Years in Prison for Two Copper Pots

[May 8, 2006]

Armen Sargsyan from Tavush celebrated his 16 th birthday this January in Abovyan's correctional facility for juvenile criminals. He had stolen two copper pots used for distilling vodka and sold them to a metal trader for 2,000 drams ... [full story]

Varduhi Zakaryan
Light Sentences for Trafficking Ring

[April 10, 2006]

"I didn't tell my parents I was going to Dubai-they wouldn't have let me go-even though I thought I was going to have a normal job there. I couldn't ask them for help once I was here [Dubai], since I was always watched when I talked to my parents on the phone ..." [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Is the Assistant Prosecutor a Pimp's Protector?

[April 3, 2006]

A file sent to the Office of the Prosecutor General from the Police Service of Armenia in March 2006 contains allegations from sisters G. and S. that Yerevan resident Gayane Darbinyan took them to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where they were subjected to sexual exploitation ... [full story]

Victoria Abrahamyan
A Classic Case of Terror Against Royal Armenia

[March 27, 2006]

In a closed-door session on March 3, the Military and Criminal Court of Appeal extended by two months the prison terms of Royal Armenia ltd. co-owner Gagik Hakobyan and vice-president Aram Ghazaryan. They have been in prison since October 11, 2005, and ... [full story]

Naira Bulghadaryan
Human Traffickers Convicted in Vanadzor

[March 27, 2006]

On March 17, Arusyak Melkumyan, a notorious Vanadzor pimp, was sentenced to four years in prison by the Court of First Instance of Lori Marz, Judge Barik Grigoryan presiding, on charges of human trafficking. Her partner in crime ... [full story]

Ararat Davtyan, Natasha Haroutyounyan
Consumer Wins Court Case

[March 6, 2006]

After a number of delays, Hovsep Shamakhyan's case against Nor Verelk ltd. was finally heard on February 23 rd by the Court of First Instance of the Kentron and Nork Marash municipalities ... [full story]

Liana Sayadyan
Ukrainian Girls Exploited in Armenia

[February 20, 2006]

In July 2005, Viktorya Lukyanenko and Tatyana Malashenko, both residents of Ukraine, came to Yerevan to make money as strippers, although neither had worked in striptease before ... [full story]

Varduhi Zakaryan
Punished for Slapping His Child

[February 20, 2006]

"If I didn't put a stop to her lying, running away from home, or stealing now, in a couple of years she wouldn't have a decent education or a decent future. And one day she would take the path of crime and eventually end up in jail ..." [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Prosecutor General's Office Refuses to Comply with Court Decisions

[February 6, 2006]

Sources within the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia have told us that the investigators in the case of US philanthropists George and Carolann Najarian were recently rewarded for achievements by their superiors ... [full story]

Sara Petrosyan
No Union Unless Management Says So

[January 30, 2006]

Last December the Chamber for Civil and Economic Cases of the Court of Cassation of Armenia considered the suit brought by of Armen Sahakyan, a mechanical engineer with many years of experience at the Sotk mine and ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
Armenian Prostitutes in Turkey

[December 5, 2005]

A few months ago, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in a speech that Turkey hosts around 40,000 Armenian citizens. What are so many Armenians doing in different locations within Turkey? They are mainly in trade, working in the service industry, or, painful as it is to admit it, involved in the sex business ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
The Court is Soft on Human Trafficking

[November 21, 2005]

On November 11th in Echmiadzin, the Court of First Instance of Armavir announced its ruling in a case involving trafficking in women. That day, Judge Tigran Petrosyan gave three of the defendants in the case very light sentences, based on Article 64 of the Criminal Code, which is to be used only if there are mitigating circumstances, for example, when a defendant has assisted in solving a crime ... [full story]

Edik Baghdasaryan
The Najarians are Stuck between the Courts and the Prosecutor General's Office

[November 14, 2005]

The Court of First Instance of Yerevan's Kentron and Nork- Marash Districts, Judge Pargev Ohanyan presiding, has ruled to terminate the decision by the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia to dismiss the case against Grigor Igityan. Other courts have issued similar rulings in the past, but the rights of businessman and benefactor George Najarian have yet to be restored ... [full story]

Karine Simonyan
The Next Mayor of Kachachkut May Be a Sect Leader

[November 7, 2005]

In the recent election for mayor of the village of Kachachkut in the Lori Marz, there were 290 voters and 4 candidates. This time it was current village head Haykaz Davtyan, store owner Araik Poghosyan, farmer Hovik Lalayan and leader of the religious sect New Apostles Mkhitar Tamazyan who were promising to solve the village's problems. Tamazyan, in addition to his religious duties, teaches history in the village school ... [full story]

Varduhi Zakaryan
Ex Policeman Convicted of Human Trafficking

[October 24, 2005]

The Court of First Instance of Yerevan's Kentron and Nork-Marash District has sentenced former police officer Alik Gasparyan to five years and six months in prison, in accordance with Article 132 of the Armenian Criminal Code. (See also: The Promise of a Fairy Tale Life Draws Women to Dubai). During the preliminary invrstigation, Gasparyan had stated that he was guilty on all charges ... [full story]

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