Since the adoption of the resolution 1643 the Armenian government has been quiet and is looking for new solutions of the political prisoners’ problem. Last week the government presented a draft package of amendment to the RA law on judicial service, according to which if accused people refuse to stand up at the court, judges may make them leave the court room and continue the session without them. In a word, due to the mentioned amendment the authorities will be able to do what they have been trying to do since the beginning of the Case of Seven. There is no other explanation. If the authorities are doing their best to fulfill the PACE requirements till April, it is logical that the first thing they may do is to finish the Case of Seven as soon as possible and by amending the articles 225 and 300 of the criminal code release the political prisoners. The fact that the accused people don’t stand up at the court demand does not prevent the trial because they could proceed the case as they have done with the Case of Seven and Jhangiryan’s trial. However, the mentioned initiative shows that the commitments of the authorities are not real and they have other intentions too. Specifically, it is not excluded that after amending the mentioned articles and releasing the political prisoners the police may leave or “add” criminal articles in the cases of the mentioned people, and then launch a trail not over political prisoners, but criminals. The parliament will adopt the mentioned draft law in two weeks, i.e. several days after the court session of the Case of Seven to take place on February 12. In other words, if this scenario of the government works, during the next court session Mnatsakan Martirosyan, the judge, will have to delay one more session and spend the next session with representatives of the prosecutor’s office and skinheads. This is a real “environment of tolerance”. Everyone dreams of such tolerance, even Raffi Hovhannisyan.
