YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The court of first instance of Yerevan's Kentron and Nork-Marash communities presided over by judge Zhora Vardanian will publish the court act on the case against the former deputy prosecutor general of Armenia Gagik Jhangirian on March 23. At the March 18 court sitting, Gagik Jhangirian, who is charged with "committing violence (not dangerous to life or health) against a representative of authorities", made a defence speech, which, in his opinion, was an accusatory speech. He underlined that he does not need to make a defence speech as he is unfairly accused of a crime that he did not commit, whereas those who committed an "abortive murder provocation" against him and his brother Vardan Jhangirian in Argavand highway near Yerevan on February 23, 2008, have not been held accountable so far. Gagik Jhangirian considered the case initiated against him as "political by its content and false criminal by its form," noting that the direct reason for that was his speech at an opposition meeting. He explained that for that speech, the next day the Armenian president relieved him of his post, illegally deprived him of his prosecutor's rank and instructed to liquidate him (which resulted in failure). For that reason the "murder provocation" turned into criminal prosecution of not only Gagik Jhangirian, but also his brother. G. Jhangirian stressed that by opening a case against him and illegally depriving him of freedom, the authorities also aimed to warn, by his exapmle, all the officials and state servants who sympathize with the opposition. A considerable part of the defence-accusatory speech was dedicated to, as G. Jhangirian put it, the "bullying, illegalities and permissiveness" of the pre-election, election and postelection period of 2008. In particular, analyzing the March 1-2 events, G. Jhangirian said that the people did not hold any event in violation of the Constitution and laws, the people just resorted to self-defence, while the actions of the authorities were "full-value military actions against their own people". By official data, these actions left 10 people dead, whereas the real number, according to G. Jhangirian, is not known so far. In his opinion, the number of those wounded was also much greater, but these persons did not apply to medical institutions - for fear of requital. According to G. Jhangirian, although the former Armenian president Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency in Yerevan on March 1, in reality it was a martial law regime with the involvement of sub-units of the armed forces, which is envisaged by the Constitution only in case of an armed attack, its threat or during a war. "Who and how usurped power in violation of the Constitution and law?" G. Jhangirian asked, expressing conviction that the pre-election illegalities, the elections held with rigging, the postelection political persecutions and requital will get "flesh and blood" in the indictment of a future case. In his words, the main crisis in Armenia is the crisis of justice and administration of justice. G. Jhangirian demanded that the court "acquit him without any precondition". His defence lawyer Lusine Sahakian said at the court sitting that the transfer of G. Jhangirian from Vardashen penitentiary to Yerevan-Kentron penitentiary was illegal, and she demanded that he be moved back to Vardashen. She expressed concern that G. Jhangirian had no opportunity to personally carry his things, including voluminous correspondence, due to which other persons received the opportunity to read G. Jhangirian's complaint to the European Court. The principle of secrecy was violated in this way.

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