Armenian Genocide denier's sentence to be announced March 9

PanARMENIAN.Net - The verdict on the case of Dogu Perincek, head of the leftist-nationalist Turkish Workers' Party, will be announced in Lausanne March 9. In the words of chairman of the Armenian-Swiss Union Sargis Shahinyan, the Turkish side was accompanied in the court by Prof. Norman Stone, Prof. Justin McCarty, Paul Leidenberg and Jean-Michel Thibaux, the latter requested Turkish citizenship after the adoption of the French bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial. The Armenian side was represented by Tessa Hoffman and Raymond Gevorgyan. Perincek's supporters tried to prove that "there was no Armenian Genocide and the Turkish government was unable to plan and perpetrate a genocide within several months." However the Armenian side refuted their statements by submitting documents. The court session transformed into a historical discussion. The conviction may become a precedent. However, it was not our goal. We wanted a condemnation for the violation of the Swiss law. The verdict to be announced on Friday will show the extent of importance of the issue for both sides," Shahinyan said. The prosecutor demanded a 6 months' imprisonment for Perincek, reports RFE/RL.