June 29, 2006

Court: Heritage Office Closure Unlawful, But No Consequences

Yerevan—On June 26, 2006, Judge Edward Avetisian heard final arguments in the matter of the March break-in and closure of the Heritage Party headquarters. In a case that featured already standard vertical pressures upon the court by the office of the president and threats, both written and verbal, against Raffi Hovannisian’s attorneys, the judge held that the forcible closure of the office was patently illegal. This finding notwithstanding, he failed to rule on plaintiff’s demand for compensation, instead instructing him to pay the remaining installments on the contract which the defendants themselves claimed was null and void and ordering the theater to open the office doors to allow for vacation of the premises.

On June 29, 2006, Judge Narine Barseghian of the Davtashen-Ajapniak Court of First Instance heard Hovannisian’s complaint against the marshals of the Service for Mandatory Execution of Judicial Acts (SMEJA) for their unlawful sealing of the Heritage office on May 30, only a day after having opened it pursuant to Judge Avetisian’s April 14 injunction. During the hearing, Judge Barseghian read out the defendant’s objections to plaintiff’s claims.

Despite Raffi Hovannisian’s petition for a speedy trial and prompt resolution to the dispute, the Court decided to include the Paronian Theater, which is not a defendant in this case, as a third party to it. This resulted in the continuance of the trial, which appears to be the sole objective of the judge’s ruling.