RA PROSECUTOR GENERAL EXPRESSES HIS CONSIDERATIONS OVER
SOME QUESTIONS VOICED BY THOMAS HAMMARBERG
27-11-2008 15:45:00 | Armenia | Politics
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. As RA Prosecutor General
Aghvan Hovsepian affirmed, some estimations voiced by Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg at the
November 22 press conference in Yerevan on the basis of
incomplete information on a number of questions indirectly
contribute to deepening of a number of vicious phenomena, do not
contribute to formation of an atmosphere of confidence and
administration of justice. According to the official report of
the RA Prosecutor General's Office, Aghvan Hovsepian said this
at the meeting with Council of Europe Secretary General's
Special Representative Silvia Zehe held on November 25 in
Armenia.
In particular, the RA Prosecutor General expressed
bewilderment that T. Hammarberg voiced estimations on the
validity of the accusations brought to people being under
preliminary arrest at present without being acquainted with the
evidence and materials of the criminal case. The Prosecutor
General noted that some thoughts expressed by T. Hammarberg can
be estimated as a tendency of even if indirectly supporting the
phenomenon of giving wrong, false testimony by witnesses on the
criminal case.
During the meeting A. Hovsepian said that, in particular,
defendants, their relatives and supporters have repeatedly made
attempts to exert pressure upon the witnesses on criminal cases
on the March 1-2 mass disorders examined at courts making the
latters give testimony in favor of the defendants. Moreover,
psychological pressures are exerted, even physical violence is
used to a defendant repenting of the crime committed by him and
to his relatives, threats are addressed to the court and
prosecutors during court sittings. Nevertheless, only one
criminal case on giving false testimony by a witness at the
court has been filed so far: the witness stated during the court
sitting that he had not written and signed under the testimony
attached to the criminal case, that is, the investigator had
created false evidence. A signature expertise was fixed within
the framework of the filed criminal case, the conclusion of
which confirmed that interrogation's protocol had been signed by
the witness personally and was not forged, therefore, as a
result of the preliminary investigation it was decided to bring
an accusation to the witness of giving false testimony at the
court.
Another criminal case has been instituted for exerting
pressure upon a witness to incite him to give false testimony,
on the basis of witness' written report.
In connection with T. Hammarberg's advice of using the
services of international trace experts to find out the death
circumstances of 10 people who died in consequence of the March
1-2 events the Prosecutor General said that starting March 2008
the Prosecutor's Office has sent letters to heads of UN and OSCE
Yerevan Offices and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights Thomas Hammarberg, the Embassy of the U.S. in Armenia
with the request to provide proper international specialists and
experts for the purpose of clearing up concrete circumstances,
carrying out concrete expertises, but no criminological, trace
expertise specialist has been provided, Armenia had even
expressed readiness to send the proper materials to some expert
center for expertise abroad, which the above mentioned
authoritative international structures would advise.
The RA Prosecutor General reiterated that the investigation
body indeed needs international experts in the issue of clearing
up some circumstances, if trace experts from abroad are able to
help the investigation to find out, in particular, exactly of
which policeman's special means the three civil persons died,
Armenia is ready to invite them covering all financial
expenditures of that trip.