The verdict
dated July 20 of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash
administrative districts of Yerevan on imprisonment of four young activists
from Armenian National Congress (ANC) will be appealed until August 22 in the
RA Court of Appeal, defense lawyer of the activists Stepan Voskanyan told www.hra.am.

The case was instituted following
the incident which happened on August 9, 2011 in Yerevan, near the Karapi Lich
between the young activists and the police. In the result of incident it was
broken a nose of one of the police officers and it was qualified as violence
against a representative of authority and charges are brought against Tigran
Arakelyan. Other young activists, Sargis Gevorgayn, David Kiramijian and Artak
Karapetyan were charged with hooliganism.

In the criminal case Tigran
Arakelyan is charged for violence dangerous for life and health, against a
representative of authorities (Article 316, part 1 and 2 of the RA Criminal
Code) and hooliganism, committed by a group of persons, by offering resistance
to a representative of authorities, or a person carrying out a duty of public
order protection or a person preventing breach of public order (Article 258,
part 3 clause 1 and 2).

Sargis Gevorgyan, Davit
Kiramijian and Artak Karapetyan are charged with the same Article 258, part 3,
clauses 1 and 2 and Artak Karapetyan is a charged also with the Article 316,
part 1 of the RA Criminal Code.

Upon completion of the
trial which lasted almost a year, the judge Gagik Poghosyan sentenced ANC
activist Tigran Arakelyan for 6 years of imprisonment, Gevorgayn, Kiramjian and
Karapetyan for 2-3 years of imprisonment handing down the motion of the
prosecutor Hakob Martirosyan. The defense party disagrees with the verdict.
Defense lawyer Stepan Voskanyan stressed out that guys are not guilty and the
case is faked up.

«The accusation relies
merely on the testimonies of the police officers. During the preliminary
investigation it was presented the fact that prior to incident the police
officers rebuked a young man for walking out a dog without collar, the dispute
followed then. During the pleadings we said that this version was offered in
order to conceal the illegal actions of the police prior to the incident »,
Voskanyan told www.hra.am.

He says that police
testimonies were not founded by any evidence at the court and the testimonies
given by the police representatives and witnesses the trial stage and
preliminary investigation contradict each other.

 “The witnesses say they were summoned to the
police station by threats of dismissal in case they not testify. One of the
witnesses said that was summoned in that status for several times and now they
know his place. There are witnesses who are not eye-witnesses but were summoned
to give testimonies as eye-witnesses”, assures the lawyer.

He stresses out that
Arakelyan could not break the nose of the police officer by intentional
movement of the head because the police officer tried to immobilize Arakelyan
and tried to strangle him.

 “In that position it is possible that
Arakelyan harmed the police officer by accidental movements but he had no
intentional reason to hit him”, said Stepan Voskanyan.

Armenian National
Congress has circulated the statement where they criticize the verdict passed
by the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork Marash administrative
districts and are convinced that it is a traditional working style of
persecution of the political and civil opponents.