New report on Javakhk activist Vahagn Chakhalyan’s case released

PanARMENIAN.Net - At the request of the France-based NGO “Yerkir Europe”, international legal expert Dr. Fernand de Varennes has prepared a new and thorough report on the human rights case of Vahagn Chakhalyan, a well-known public figure and one of the more visible leaders of the Armenian minority in the Javakheti region in Georgia.

The report entitled “The Perils of Being a National Minority: Human Rights and Chakhalyan v. Georgia”, presents a detailed overview of the events in Javakheti and Georgia leading up to Vahagn Chakhalyan’s arrest and trial, as well as the country’s political context before and after the trial which have affected the Georgian authorities’ treatment of and policies toward its Armenian minority.

One of the main sections of the report is devoted to the rights violations which occurred both prior and during the trial of Vahagn Chakhalyan and members of his family, which flagrantly violated a number of basic human rights, especially in relation to a fair trial.

Vahagn Chakhalyan has been arrested since July 21, 2008. At a trial on April 7, 2009 he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on fabricated changes of “arms’ possession, hooliganism, and organization of mass unrest.”

Vahagn Chakhalyan’s case is currently before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the press service of “Yerkir” Union of Non-governmental Organizations for Repatriation and Settlement said.