Today during the court trial of the case of seven neither the political prisoners nor their 6 attorneys will be present. During yesterday’s court litigation judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan suspended judicial proceedings against one of the jailed oppositionists, who is due to undergo a psychiatric examination, and banned the six others from attending the trial for ten days for what he construed as a contempt of the court. He chose not to cancel yesterday’s hearing despite the absence of Hovik Arsenyan, the lawyer for defendant Sasun Mikaelyan. Arsenyan informed the judge in a letter that he can not attend the trial anymore because his client renounced his services on Friday and wants to hire a new attorney. However, Martirosyan rejected this explanation, deeming his absence “unjustified” and demanding that Armenia’s Chamber of Advocates take disciplinary action against the lawyer. The other defense lawyers responded by staging a walkout. In an ensuing joint statement, they condemned the judge’s decision as “illegal” and “groundless.” “In these conditions our participation in the trial is becoming impossible,” they said. “We no longer have anything to do in this courtroom because with our presence we harm our clients.” Yesterday the Armenian National Congress also made a statement in this regard. “Finally the administration reached its ideal goal in terms of the conduct of the case of seven, that is conduct the litigation in the absence of defendants and attorneys and only in the presence of the prosecutor and the judge. From the beginning they perfectly knew that the case of seven is based on fake and planned evidence and is ordered by the elite of the government. Their goal is to complete the litigation on their behalf as soon as possible.”
