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FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
http://www.forum18.org/
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
================================================
Thursday 7 July 2005
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ILLEGALLY DEPORTED ARMENIAN JW CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
JAILED, NO PROGRESS IN KARABAKH BAPTIST CASE
An Armenian citizen, Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector Armen
Grigoryan, who was illegally deported from Armenia to the unrecognised
republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been jailed in Karabakh for two years
and sent back to Armenia to serve the sentence, Forum 18 News Service has
learnt. Armen Grigoryan joins eleven other Jehovah's Witness conscientious
objectors who are currently jailed in Armenia, despite the country's broken
promise to the Council of Europe that it would free all these prisoners of
conscience and introduce civilian alternative service by January 2004. In
another Nagorno-Karabakh case, that of Baptist conscientious objector
Gagik Mirzoyan - a Karabakh native who has already spent 10 days in a
military prison - the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry has told
Forum 18 that no case has yet been formally brought against him. His
congregation were expecting him to be tried in June.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ILLEGALLY DEPORTED ARMENIAN JW CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
JAILED, NO PROGRESS IN KARABAKH BAPTIST CASE
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
Jehovah's Witness Armen Grigoryan - sentenced on 9 June in Stepanakert,
capital of the unrecognised republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South
Caucasus, to two years' imprisonment for refusing military service - was
returned to his homeland of Armenia on 5 July to serve his sentence,
Albert Voskanyan of the Stepanakert-based Centre for Civilian Initiatives
told Forum 18 News Service on 7 July. Grigoryan, an Armenian citizen, was
forcibly deported to Nagorno-Karabakh against his will, after being seized
in the Armenian capital Yerevan in June 2004 (see F18News 6 January 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=484 ).
In the case of Baptist conscientious objector Gagik Mirzoyan - a Karabakh
native - Leonid Martirosyan, chief of staff of Nagorno-Karabakh's Foreign
Ministry, said that no case against Mirzoyan has yet reached the
Nagorno-Karabakh prosecutor's office in Stepanakert in readiness for a
trial. "This means either no case has yet been lodged against him or
that the investigation is still underway," he told Forum 18 from
Stepanakert on 7 July.
Armen Grigoryan, who is from Yerevan, was sentenced under Articles 362
part 1 and 364 part 1 of the criminal code (Nagorno-Karabakh has adopted
Armenia's criminal code). These respectively punish desertion with a
prison sentence of up to four years and "refusal to perform one's
military duties" with detention of up to 3 months, disciplinary
battalion of up to 2 years or imprisonment of up to 2 years. Voskanyan, of
the Centre for Civilian Initiatives, said Grigoryan was returned to Armenia
under an agreement between the Armenian and Karabakh authorities that
Armenian citizens imprisoned in the enclave are to be returned to serve
their sentences in their homeland.
Armenia's human rights ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdyan, denied to Forum 18
in May that Grigoryan had been illegally deported as "there's no such
term," but admitted that "it might have been illegal
removal." She defended what she claimed was the right of the Armenian
Defence Ministry to send Armenian citizens to Nagorno-Karabakh, which
international law regards as part of Azerbaijan (see F18News 17 May 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=563). She has also
previously denied to Forum 18 that jailing Jehovah's Witness conscientious
objectors breaks Armenia's Council of Europe and OSCE commitments, blaming
the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves for the problems they face at the hands
of the Armenian government (see F18News 3 August 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=384 ).
Another Jehovah's Witness, Areg Hovhanesyan, a Karabakh native, was
sentenced to four years' imprisonment on 16 February (see F18News 22
February 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=517 ). He is
now being held in prison in the town of Shushi, Jehovah's Witnesses told
Forum 18. Voskanyan reported that he visits Hovhanesyan in prison every
few weeks as part of a prison monitoring programme. "I was with him
two weeks ago," he told Forum 18. "Areg seemed well."
Voskanyan added that he also speaks regularly to the prison governor.
Baptist conscientious objector Gagik Mirzoyan, also a Karabakh native, was
called up last December and refused to serve with weapons or to swear the
military oath on grounds of religious conscience. Since being conscripted
he has been beaten up in two different military units and served 10 days
in military prison (see F18News 6 January 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=483 and 15 April 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id =544 ).
Ashot Yegonyan of the public prosecutor's office of Hadrut region of
south-eastern Nagorno-Karabakh told Mirzoyan's mother in May that charges
have been laid against her son under Article 364 part 1 of the criminal
code. His fellow Baptists reported in May that they were expecting a trial
in June, with the possibility of beuing sentenced to jail or forced labour
for two years (see F18News 20 May 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=566 ).
However, a member of the Council of Churches Baptists, to which Mirzoyan's
congregation belongs, confirmed to Forum 18 on 7 July that no trial has yet
taken place, but said they are expecting one soon. The Council of Churches
Baptists refuse on principle to register with the state authorities in
post-Soviet countries, and Mirzoyan's congregation has faced harassment
from the Karabakh authorities (see F18News 27 September 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=420 ).
Martirosyan of the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry defended the
continuing imprisonment of conscientious objectors. "Karabakh law
requires all young men to serve, and refusing this duty represents
breaking the law," he told Forum 18 from Stepanakert. He stressed
that the war with Azerbaijani forces has not yet finished and no peace
treaty has been signed. "We have to look at the specifics of our
situation. War could revive at any moment." He told Forum 18 that the
government has recently considered the possibility of introducing an
alternative to compulsory military service. "But there was no
result."
Voskanyan of the Centre for Civilian Initiatives admitted that
conscientious objection is a "thorny issue" in Nagorno-Karabakh,
which provokes "great arguments". While stressing that freedom of
conscience is a right guaranteed by the constitution, he warned that
"society must be prepared carefully so that we can take this
step". He told Forum 18 that his centre will soon hold a roundtable
to discuss alternative service, with politicians, officials, human rights
activists, local Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics and Baptists, members of
the Armenian Apostolic Church and representatives of international
organisations. "We want this roundtable to be well-prepared," he
insisted.
Now back in Armenia, Grigoryan joins eleven other Jehovah's Witness
conscientious objectors currently serving prison terms. The most recent
sentences were of Sarkis Karapetyan and Tatul Gogjanyan in April (see
F18News 17 May 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=563 ).
Armenia has continued to unashamedly break its promise to the Council of
Europe that it would free all these prisoners of conscience and introduce
civilian alternative service by January 2004 (see F18News 19 October 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=434 ).
A printer-friendly map of the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is
available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootma p=azerba
within the map titled 'Azerbaijan'.
A printer-friendly map of Armenia is available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=armeni
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
http://www.forum18.org/
http://www.forum18.org/
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
================================================
Thursday 7 July 2005
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ILLEGALLY DEPORTED ARMENIAN JW CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
JAILED, NO PROGRESS IN KARABAKH BAPTIST CASE
An Armenian citizen, Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector Armen
Grigoryan, who was illegally deported from Armenia to the unrecognised
republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been jailed in Karabakh for two years
and sent back to Armenia to serve the sentence, Forum 18 News Service has
learnt. Armen Grigoryan joins eleven other Jehovah's Witness conscientious
objectors who are currently jailed in Armenia, despite the country's broken
promise to the Council of Europe that it would free all these prisoners of
conscience and introduce civilian alternative service by January 2004. In
another Nagorno-Karabakh case, that of Baptist conscientious objector
Gagik Mirzoyan - a Karabakh native who has already spent 10 days in a
military prison - the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry has told
Forum 18 that no case has yet been formally brought against him. His
congregation were expecting him to be tried in June.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ILLEGALLY DEPORTED ARMENIAN JW CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
JAILED, NO PROGRESS IN KARABAKH BAPTIST CASE
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
Jehovah's Witness Armen Grigoryan - sentenced on 9 June in Stepanakert,
capital of the unrecognised republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South
Caucasus, to two years' imprisonment for refusing military service - was
returned to his homeland of Armenia on 5 July to serve his sentence,
Albert Voskanyan of the Stepanakert-based Centre for Civilian Initiatives
told Forum 18 News Service on 7 July. Grigoryan, an Armenian citizen, was
forcibly deported to Nagorno-Karabakh against his will, after being seized
in the Armenian capital Yerevan in June 2004 (see F18News 6 January 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=484 ).
In the case of Baptist conscientious objector Gagik Mirzoyan - a Karabakh
native - Leonid Martirosyan, chief of staff of Nagorno-Karabakh's Foreign
Ministry, said that no case against Mirzoyan has yet reached the
Nagorno-Karabakh prosecutor's office in Stepanakert in readiness for a
trial. "This means either no case has yet been lodged against him or
that the investigation is still underway," he told Forum 18 from
Stepanakert on 7 July.
Armen Grigoryan, who is from Yerevan, was sentenced under Articles 362
part 1 and 364 part 1 of the criminal code (Nagorno-Karabakh has adopted
Armenia's criminal code). These respectively punish desertion with a
prison sentence of up to four years and "refusal to perform one's
military duties" with detention of up to 3 months, disciplinary
battalion of up to 2 years or imprisonment of up to 2 years. Voskanyan, of
the Centre for Civilian Initiatives, said Grigoryan was returned to Armenia
under an agreement between the Armenian and Karabakh authorities that
Armenian citizens imprisoned in the enclave are to be returned to serve
their sentences in their homeland.
Armenia's human rights ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdyan, denied to Forum 18
in May that Grigoryan had been illegally deported as "there's no such
term," but admitted that "it might have been illegal
removal." She defended what she claimed was the right of the Armenian
Defence Ministry to send Armenian citizens to Nagorno-Karabakh, which
international law regards as part of Azerbaijan (see F18News 17 May 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=563). She has also
previously denied to Forum 18 that jailing Jehovah's Witness conscientious
objectors breaks Armenia's Council of Europe and OSCE commitments, blaming
the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves for the problems they face at the hands
of the Armenian government (see F18News 3 August 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=384 ).
Another Jehovah's Witness, Areg Hovhanesyan, a Karabakh native, was
sentenced to four years' imprisonment on 16 February (see F18News 22
February 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=517 ). He is
now being held in prison in the town of Shushi, Jehovah's Witnesses told
Forum 18. Voskanyan reported that he visits Hovhanesyan in prison every
few weeks as part of a prison monitoring programme. "I was with him
two weeks ago," he told Forum 18. "Areg seemed well."
Voskanyan added that he also speaks regularly to the prison governor.
Baptist conscientious objector Gagik Mirzoyan, also a Karabakh native, was
called up last December and refused to serve with weapons or to swear the
military oath on grounds of religious conscience. Since being conscripted
he has been beaten up in two different military units and served 10 days
in military prison (see F18News 6 January 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=483 and 15 April 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id =544 ).
Ashot Yegonyan of the public prosecutor's office of Hadrut region of
south-eastern Nagorno-Karabakh told Mirzoyan's mother in May that charges
have been laid against her son under Article 364 part 1 of the criminal
code. His fellow Baptists reported in May that they were expecting a trial
in June, with the possibility of beuing sentenced to jail or forced labour
for two years (see F18News 20 May 2005
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=566 ).
However, a member of the Council of Churches Baptists, to which Mirzoyan's
congregation belongs, confirmed to Forum 18 on 7 July that no trial has yet
taken place, but said they are expecting one soon. The Council of Churches
Baptists refuse on principle to register with the state authorities in
post-Soviet countries, and Mirzoyan's congregation has faced harassment
from the Karabakh authorities (see F18News 27 September 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=420 ).
Martirosyan of the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry defended the
continuing imprisonment of conscientious objectors. "Karabakh law
requires all young men to serve, and refusing this duty represents
breaking the law," he told Forum 18 from Stepanakert. He stressed
that the war with Azerbaijani forces has not yet finished and no peace
treaty has been signed. "We have to look at the specifics of our
situation. War could revive at any moment." He told Forum 18 that the
government has recently considered the possibility of introducing an
alternative to compulsory military service. "But there was no
result."
Voskanyan of the Centre for Civilian Initiatives admitted that
conscientious objection is a "thorny issue" in Nagorno-Karabakh,
which provokes "great arguments". While stressing that freedom of
conscience is a right guaranteed by the constitution, he warned that
"society must be prepared carefully so that we can take this
step". He told Forum 18 that his centre will soon hold a roundtable
to discuss alternative service, with politicians, officials, human rights
activists, local Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics and Baptists, members of
the Armenian Apostolic Church and representatives of international
organisations. "We want this roundtable to be well-prepared," he
insisted.
Now back in Armenia, Grigoryan joins eleven other Jehovah's Witness
conscientious objectors currently serving prison terms. The most recent
sentences were of Sarkis Karapetyan and Tatul Gogjanyan in April (see
F18News 17 May 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=563 ).
Armenia has continued to unashamedly break its promise to the Council of
Europe that it would free all these prisoners of conscience and introduce
civilian alternative service by January 2004 (see F18News 19 October 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=434 ).
A printer-friendly map of the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is
available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootma p=azerba
within the map titled 'Azerbaijan'.
A printer-friendly map of Armenia is available at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=armeni
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News http://www.forum18.org/
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
http://www.forum18.org/