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YEREVAN AGAIN FINED BY EUROPEAN COURT FOR EVICTIONS
by Irina Hovhannisyan
Armenialiberty.org
Nov 17 2011
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered the Armenian authorities
to pay 18,500 euros ($25,500) to another Yerevan family that was
evicted from its home as a result of controversial redevelopment in
the city center.
The court ruled this week that that the eviction of Hovannes
Hovannisian, his wife Astghik and daughter Liana violated an article of
the European Convention on Human Rights that protects private property.
The three were forced to vacate their old house in December 2005 after
rejecting as insufficient a $10,500 compensation offered by the state.
The house was located in a downtown Yerevan neighborhood that was
bulldozed in 2003-2007 to make room for expensive residential and
office buildings.
Hundreds of local families were displaced in the process. Many of
them staged protests, saying that financial compensation offered to
them was set well below the market value of their properties because
of government corruption.
The authorities denied the accusations and insisted that most
displaced families are satisfied with the sums paid by the state. The
redevelopment overseen by then President Robert Kocharian went
ahead even after it was effectively declared illegal by Armenia's
Constitutional Court in 2006.
"We have rented an apartment ever since the eviction," Hovannes
Hovannisian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on Thursday.
He said he is largely satisfied with the amount of damages awarded
by the Strasbourg-based court.
The sum, which the Armenian government must pay within three months,
is barely enough to buy a small apartment on the outskirts of Yerevan.
No new building has been constructed yet at the site of the demolished
houses of the Hovannisians and their neighbors. According to the
family lawyer, Vahe Grigorian, the construction company that bought
their land has gone bankrupt and is now facing criminal proceedings.
"That just shows that there was no need to evict those people from
their homes," Grigorian told RFE/RL's Armenian service.
The Hovannisians are the third evicted family to receive additional
compensation ordered by the European Court of Human Rights. Grigorian
said some 20 other families have filed similar lawsuits to Strasbourg.
by Irina Hovhannisyan
Armenialiberty.org
Nov 17 2011
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered the Armenian authorities
to pay 18,500 euros ($25,500) to another Yerevan family that was
evicted from its home as a result of controversial redevelopment in
the city center.
The court ruled this week that that the eviction of Hovannes
Hovannisian, his wife Astghik and daughter Liana violated an article of
the European Convention on Human Rights that protects private property.
The three were forced to vacate their old house in December 2005 after
rejecting as insufficient a $10,500 compensation offered by the state.
The house was located in a downtown Yerevan neighborhood that was
bulldozed in 2003-2007 to make room for expensive residential and
office buildings.
Hundreds of local families were displaced in the process. Many of
them staged protests, saying that financial compensation offered to
them was set well below the market value of their properties because
of government corruption.
The authorities denied the accusations and insisted that most
displaced families are satisfied with the sums paid by the state. The
redevelopment overseen by then President Robert Kocharian went
ahead even after it was effectively declared illegal by Armenia's
Constitutional Court in 2006.
"We have rented an apartment ever since the eviction," Hovannes
Hovannisian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on Thursday.
He said he is largely satisfied with the amount of damages awarded
by the Strasbourg-based court.
The sum, which the Armenian government must pay within three months,
is barely enough to buy a small apartment on the outskirts of Yerevan.
No new building has been constructed yet at the site of the demolished
houses of the Hovannisians and their neighbors. According to the
family lawyer, Vahe Grigorian, the construction company that bought
their land has gone bankrupt and is now facing criminal proceedings.
"That just shows that there was no need to evict those people from
their homes," Grigorian told RFE/RL's Armenian service.
The Hovannisians are the third evicted family to receive additional
compensation ordered by the European Court of Human Rights. Grigorian
said some 20 other families have filed similar lawsuits to Strasbourg.