RA OMBUDSMAN CONSIDERS "DISPROPORTIONATE" LEAVING GAGIK
HAKOBIAN IN CUSTODY
23-10-2007 19:00:00 | Armenia | Social
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Ombudsman Armen
Haroutiunian considers "disproportionate" keeping unchanged
the preventive punishment, arrest, chosen to the co-owner of the
Royal Armenia company, Gagik Hakobian. Grigory Grigoriants,
Ombudsman's Spokesperson, said this in his interview to Noyan
Tapan correspondent. He explained that the defendant had stated
in advance that he was coming back to Armenia, nevertheless,
the court considered that being in freedom, G. Hakobian can
avoid the judicial enquiry and dismissed the petition to change
the preventive punishment, arrest, chosen to him.
It should be mentioned that the RA Criminal Appeal Court
made a decision to choose arrest as a preventive punishment
to G. Hakobian, who was in Spain for the purpose of undergoing a
medical treatment, a search was announced, though Ashot
Sargsian, G. Hakobian's lawyer, had informed the court about the
place of his defendant's location, his telephone number with
roaming, as well as the medical certificate on receiving a medical
treatment in Spain. When Hakobian returned from Spain, he was
arrested, and the petition to replace arrest by another
preventive punishment was dismissed.
Grigory Grigoriants presented the RA Ombudsman's position,
according to which, if the arguments are disputable and
equivocal, human rights protection should be taken into account.
Earlier the first instance court of Yerevan's Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities had passed a "not guilty" verdict
on the case against the Royal Armenia company, the case is
examined at the Appeal Court on the basis of the appeal
complaints of the prosecutor party.