Ayvazyan, an ex-lawmaker and former official, was sentenced by a Yerevan court in November 2008 under Paragraph 4 Article 235 and Paragraph 1 Article 316 of the Criminal Code. He was charged with illegal possession of a non-lethal weapon, resisting officers, making threats and physical assault. Ayvazyan was given a 2-year prison sentence and was fined.
He appealed the verdict but the complaint was denied in 2009 by a court of appeals. The court even returned the complaint and didn’t launch proceedings.
Smbat Ayvazyan died in 2014.
The General Prosecution said it is examining the 2008 post-election unrest criminal cases and court verdicts where violations of rights have been recorded or where new facts on possible violations have emerged.
Ayvazyan’s case was studied as part of the review and the prosecution revealed that during the former politician’s hearing “fundamental violations of due process took place and the resulting verdict is disrupting the very essence of justice”.
The prosecution said that in addition to violating Ayvazyan’s right to due process, the charges were based on “inadmissible evidence” and the court denied the defendant’s motions without any grounds to summon witnesses to the trial, and the verdict was based on unchecked testimonies of police officers who themselves were involved in the events in question.
The prosecu...
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