18 August 2017, 15:13
Second public advocate refuses to represent Zhirair Sefilyan's interests in court
A new advocate, provided by the public defence office, like previous one, has refused to defend Zhirair Sefilyan, the leader of the opposition movement "100th Anniversary Without Regime".
In June 2016, Zhirair Sefilyan was detained on the charge of organizing illegal transportation and storage of weapons. In November, investigators charged him with preparations for seizure of a building. Meanwhile, in May 2015, a case was instituted against Zhirair Sefilyan and four members of the opposition "Constituent Parliament" for plotting mass riots.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that despite Zhirair Sefilyan and Nerses Pogosyan waived services of a public defender, Judge Tatevik Grigoryan appointed Emin Beglaryan to be their advocate. However, the court did not take into account the objections of Emin Beglaryan himself, who stated that he would not represent the interests of the defendants in court without their consent.
Today, the Yerevan court has continued the hearings in the case against Zhirair Sefilyan. The public defence office provided new public defender Marine Tovmasyan, whom Judge Tatevik Grigoryan, despite the objection of Zhirair Sefilyan and Nerses Pogosyan, involved in the case as their advocate.
The new public defender also refused to represent the defendants' interests in court. According to the advocate, she is not entitled to participate in the trial on behalf of the defendants without their consent.
"I do not know the position of the defendants, and I did not examine the case materials. In is impossible to achieve justice in such conditions," emphasized Marine Tovmasyan.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
