Turkish Politician Found Guilty of Genocide Denial

We discussed this case previously. But now, it's done:

A Swiss district court has found a Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek, guilty of racial discrimination for denying the 1915 Armenian massacre was genocide. The court handed Perincek a 90-day suspended sentence or a corresponding penalty as well as a fine of SFr 3,000 [about $2,500]. Perincek can avoid imprisonment in case he avoids repeating his statements during two years.

"The core of the process is that the Armenian Genocide is an incontestable fact and no one has the right to question it."

Will this send a message to all other Genocide deniers in Switzerland? Will Dogu himself continue his denial? We'll have to see.

Source: PanArmenian

Turkish Lawyer Accuses Robert Kocharyan of Genocide

It just gets better and better.

Viktor Soghomonyan, the press-secretary of the Armenian President, qualified Turkish lawyer Kamal Kerincsiz's initiative as nonsense. The Turkish lawyer tries to accuse the Armenian President of the "Khojaly genocide".

K.Kerincsiz, the leader of the Turkish Lawyers' Union, has already appealed to some unknown judicial structure "Roman International Criminal Court". According to the source, the lawyer states that he has all the necessary proof for accusing the Armenian President and 78 terrorists of the massacre.

Oh, my.

Source: Azg

Turkish Nationalist to Be Tried for Genocide Denial

After years of denying the Armenian Genocide, at least one Turk will suffer the consequences.

Turkish nationalist, leader of the Turkish Labor Party Dogu Perincek will stand trial in Switzerland. Perincek called the Genocide "an international lie" during his speech in Bern and repeated the same words in Zurich.

A criminal case was also initiated against chairman of the Turkish Association of Historians Yusuf Halacogly, who repeatedly denies the Armenian Genocide.

According to the Swiss legislation, public denial or justification of the Armenian Genocide conflicts with the law and is viewed as a criminal deed.

At last, a country that can talk the talk and walk the walk. Let's hope they get the message!

Source: Yerkir

Ramil Safarov's Appeal Denied

On February 19, 2004, Azeri Ramil Safarov - pictured above - hacked to death an Officer of the Armenian Army, Gurgen Margarian. As a result, a Hungarian court has sentenced him for life.

...the lower court's verdict and its assessment of the crime was correct. The Azeri side can appeal this decision within 8 days in the Supreme Court, but...the highest court of Hungary does not take up all cases.

You can't see this kind of justice in Turkey or Azerbaijan, that's for sure!

Source: ArmenPress

Armenian Journalist Goes on Trial

Yet another one of those free speech stories breaking cover:

The trial opened in Yerevan and immediately adjourned on January 17 of Gagik Shamshian...Shamshian faces charges, which he denies, of having extorted money in 1998-2004 from residents of Yerevan's Nubarashen district in return for not publishing articles criticizing them, and, on the basis of unpublished cartoons, of defamation.

The charges were brought against Shamshian last August, two months after he claimed to have been assaulted by associates of Nubarashen Mayor Mher Hovannisian. Shamshian claimed Hovannisian was angered by articles he published criticizing the district authorities. Shamshian said on January 17 that a senior prosecutor recently offered to drop the charges against him if he wrote to the OSCE admitting his guilt.

Does anyone out there really believe the extortion story?

Source: EurasiaNet

Injustice: Ruling Without Defense Attorneys

Armenia has a lot of work to do, especially with regards to justice:

Today the Review Court closed the case of Arman Babajanyan, editor-in-chief of Jamanak Yerevan newspaper. The court changed the sentence of 4 years imprisonment to 3 and half years. Babajanyan is accused of faking documents in order to evade military service as well as for stealing documents.

Babajanyan’s defense attorneys... did not appear to court today requesting to postpone the hearing because the committee has not issued its answer. Babajanyan was also supposed to make his defense speech today.

Babajanyan refused to make his speech without his defense attorney but the court ignored the fact and ruled 3.5 years of imprisonment in jail.

"Coup" Plotters Will Not Be Released

Here's the latest on that strange story.

An Armenian appeals court refused yesterday to order the release of a Lebanese-Armenian nationalist activist pending the politically charged investigation into his alleged plans to forcibly topple the government in Yerevan, Radio Liberty’s Armenian service reports.

The Court of Appeals also upheld late day before yesterday the pre-trial detention of a senior member of a small opposition party who is facing the same accusations. Zhirayr Sefilian, the leader of a hard-line pressure group opposed to any concessions to Azerbaijan, and Vartan Malkhasian of the Fatherland and Honor party were arrested earlier this month and charged under an article of the Criminal Code that deals with public calls for a “violent overthrow of constitutional order.” Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) says they set up a clandestine organization, called the Alliance of Armenian Volunteers (HKH), to mount an armed uprising against the government during parliamentary elections expected next spring.

The court refused to release them on bail, saying that they could flee the country, obstruct justice or exert “illegal influence” on investigators.

This is starting to sound like the Soviet Union - or Iran! Armenia obviously hasn't yet learned that competition is good, whether in business or in politics. Wait, who am I kidding? They know that very well, but they prefer power and money to the creation of a fair and equal country.

Source: Axis News