Many people in Armenia know Carolann and George Najarian. These
Boston philanthropists have been implementing humanitarian projects in
Armenia ever since the 1988 earthquake. A week ago, we received the
following letter from them, which we reprint in its entirety.
November 16, 2004
Dear Editor:
This past week President Robert Kocharian’s advisor on corruption,
Bagrat Yesayan, toured the US meeting with members of the
Armenian-American community. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet with
him. Had we done so, we would have told him what follows, a sad, but
true account of what we have experienced within Armenia ‘s legal system
over this past year.
Let us first introduce ourselves: our humanitarian efforts in Armenia
and Artsakh have spanned nearly 16 years. Our projects began after the
earthquake and during the Artsakh liberation war and continue through
today, with more than 50 trips to Armenia, the delivery of millions of
dollars of medical supplies to both regions; the establishment of the
Primary Care Center in Gyumri (1994) and the Arpen Center for Expectant
Mothers in Artsakh (1995); hospital renovations; and many other
efforts, including the rebuilding of Tsitsernavank, the 4 th c.
basilica in Kashatagh (Lachine corridor), assistance to villagers,
invalids, veterans, orphans, and schools. The record speaks for itself.
Our work has been carried out through the Armenian Health Alliance,
Inc. and its supporters as well as through our own private funds.
In response to the Armenian government’s pleas to the Diaspora to
invest in Armenia , George undertook a project with a young man who he
met after the earthquake and with whom he subsequently became friends.
(We even brought this ‘friend’ to Boston to have surgical correction of
his infertility for which we paid; he now has two children, thanks to
us!) In 1996, after a year of prodding George to finance a business
venture, they opened a photo shop as partners – he did the work and
George paid for everything. He also introduced George to various people
with other business propositions. One introduction led to our purchase
of two parcels of land in the Ethnographic Center at Tzoraghugh with
spectacular views of Ararat. Throughout this time this ‘friend’
presented himself to us as an honest person, thankful for the
assistance we had given to him and wanting to help George in whatever
way he could. We never had any reason to doubt him.
This ‘friend’ was George’s representative, not partner, in the
development of these two parcels of land. Thus, he had Power of
Attorney to represent George in his absence. However, he used this
Power of Attorney to fraudulently privatize in his name these lands and
our two newly constructed buildings, in effect expropriating our
substantial investment. When we understood what he had done, with the
hope of avoiding a legal battle, we tried to negotiate with him for the
return of the properties. This failed, despite offers of significant
sums of money. Without any other recourse open to us and based on the
advice of legal experts in Armenia , we filed a criminal case against
him, first with the Yerevan City Prosecutor’s Office (September, 2003)
and later with the Prosecutor General of Armenia ‘s office (March,
2004).
We had assumed the facts in the case were obvious — “open and shut”–
given the evidence of scores of witnesses, bank documents, receipts,
etc. We had not anticipated that our ‘friend’ would enlist the help of
well-connected persons in the government who could influence the case
through bribes and whatever other means available to them, including
intimidating witnesses and threatening lives. In December, 2003, after
a long but superficial investigation, the Yerevan City Prosecutor’s
Office dismissed the case and referred us to civil court. (We suspected
the prosecutor had been bribed but could not prove it.) On appeal, the
case was reopened at the Prosecutor General level. This time
prosecutors agreed we were the victims of fraud. They also found that
the ‘friend’ was guilty of tax evasion. Attempts were again made to
hijack the case through dismissal at this point but failed. While the
Yerevan City Prosecutor who previously dismissed the case admitted
during a meeting at the General Prosecutor’s Office, in George’s
presence, that he made a mistake by dismissing the case, the current
prosecutors said that the evidence was too powerful to dismiss, and
sent the case to the next phase within the criminal process — that of
acquiring evidence for the trial.
Two investigators were assigned the task of preparing the evidence for
trial: witnesses were repeatedly called and subjected to hours of
interrogation; George returned to Armenia again to testify – this time
for more than 40 hours; and, documents were requested and provided by
us for a third time. Again, the investigation dragged on for months and
despite mountains of evidence supporting our claims, and little on the
other side supporting his claim of ownership, the two investigators
doing the work dismissed the case! Their decision, a shabby, crude, and
even absurd document completely ignored or marginalized important
evidence supporting our claims and falsified facts –openly. We were
again referred to civil court. We had information that these
investigators were following orders from persons within the government
who stand to benefit from expropriating these properties from us.
Prominent legal minds in Armenia , including experts within the
government, have advised us that this is a criminal case of fraud
punishable under Armenian law. Similar cases, with less evidence, have
been fully prosecuted by the Prosecutor General’s Office. The attempt
to move us into civil court is an attempt to kill the case completely.
Under Armenian law, we have no civil case because there is no
partnership agreement between the parties – we were not partners with
this ‘friend.’
It pains us to tell you we did not find an objective, fair justice
system in Armenia, but instead we have seen the inside of a system
wrought with deceit and corruption that crushes even their own when
they try to resist. During this past year, in addition to our direct
appeals, others, including a high-ranking member of the Armenian
government, have appealed repeatedly for a fair and objective hearing
of our case to persons within the judicial system and to President
Kocharian himself. The US Embassy is fully aware of the circumstances
of our case as are a number of US congressmen who have written to the
Armenian ambassador in Washington expressing concern over the conduct
of our case – judicial processes must be open and fair otherwise
investors will be leery of undertaking investment risk in Armenia .
It is impossible to recount all that we have been through this past
year. It has been an emotional roller coaster as we faced the fact that
persons within this government would participate in this humiliating
and base fraud against us. It appears due process of law and the
protection of rights and investment are still fragile concepts for the
government of Armenia . As we understand other Diasporans have
encountered similar problems and have been treated in this same manner.
We hope with our case being made public there will be a willingness to
discuss these critical issues, and the Armenian government will take
the necessary steps to clean up corruption: the judiciary should not
exist to guarantee people in power wealth. It is no way to build a
country!
Mr. Editor, this is what we would have told Mr. Yesayan had we met with
him. Writing this letter is a very painful step for us taken
reluctantly after one year of struggling to get a fair hearing of our
case. Although we are still in the appeal process, we understand that
our property – including the place where we anticipated living out our
retirement years – has been taken from us. What you are not seeing,
though, are the tears we have shed over knowing that we may never be
able to return to Armenia, to live and continue our work, and knowing
not only has our property been expropriated, but we as people who have
loved and worked for the good of Armenia and its people have been so
dishonestly treated. The pain goes very deep.
Sincerely,
K. George Najarian and Carolann S. Najarian, M.D.
We met with Carolann Najarian on September 16, 2004 , and she
described in detail how their investments in Armenia had been stolen.
She said she had met with almost every senior official but none of them
had done anything to help. “I will never come back to Armenia ,” she
told us tearfully. The Court of First Instance of the Kentron and
Nork-Marash Communities of Yerevan began its hearing of the case on
November 25, 2004. George and Carolann Najarian’s representatives are
appealing against the dismissal of the case by the Office of the Pr
osecutor General. Hetq will follow the case and keep you informed.