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ARMENIAN JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO 4 YEARS FOR DRAFT DODGING
AP Worldstream
Sep 09, 2006
The editor of an Armenian newspaper famous for its critical coverage
of government policies was sentenced to four years in prison for
draft dodging _ an unusually severe punishment condemned by media
activists as an attempt to stifle freedom of speech.
A Yerevan court on Friday found Arman Babadzhanian, 26, editor of the
daily Zhamanak-Yerevan (Yerevan Times) guilty of forging documents to
avoid compulsory military service. Babadzhanian admitted to forging a
marriage and children's birth certificates of a friend living in the
United States in order to dodge the draft, but said he never stole
the documents, as prosecutors contend.
Babadzhanian spent some time in the U.S., where he criticized Armenian
authorities in local media, and then returned to Yerevan to run the
daily, which regularly criticized the government.
Media watchers said the sentence was unusually harsh, considering
draft-dodging normally carries a maximum three-year prison sentence
under Armenian law, and accused authorities of repressing independent
journalists.
"It's not me who is on trial, its free media," Babadzhanian said at
a recent court hearing.
Military service is compulsory in Armenia for men aged 18-27. Those
with two children or more do not have to serve, and university students
are eligible for draft deferrals.
AP Worldstream
Sep 09, 2006
The editor of an Armenian newspaper famous for its critical coverage
of government policies was sentenced to four years in prison for
draft dodging _ an unusually severe punishment condemned by media
activists as an attempt to stifle freedom of speech.
A Yerevan court on Friday found Arman Babadzhanian, 26, editor of the
daily Zhamanak-Yerevan (Yerevan Times) guilty of forging documents to
avoid compulsory military service. Babadzhanian admitted to forging a
marriage and children's birth certificates of a friend living in the
United States in order to dodge the draft, but said he never stole
the documents, as prosecutors contend.
Babadzhanian spent some time in the U.S., where he criticized Armenian
authorities in local media, and then returned to Yerevan to run the
daily, which regularly criticized the government.
Media watchers said the sentence was unusually harsh, considering
draft-dodging normally carries a maximum three-year prison sentence
under Armenian law, and accused authorities of repressing independent
journalists.
"It's not me who is on trial, its free media," Babadzhanian said at
a recent court hearing.
Military service is compulsory in Armenia for men aged 18-27. Those
with two children or more do not have to serve, and university students
are eligible for draft deferrals.