On April 17, court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash communities
of Yerevan released a verdict on the case of free-lance journalist Gagik Shamshian,
accused on Part 3 of Article 343 of RA Criminal Code (“Disrespect to Court”).
As it has been reported, on August 5, 2008 during a session of the court of
general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan Gagik
Shamshian was dismissed from the courtroom upon the order of Judge Gagik Avetisian.
At first the journalist was locked in the basement of the court and was later
taken to the Kentron Police Department, where he stayed for over two hours.
The criminal proceedings were instituted in September, and the charge was brought
against journalist in December 2008. The hearings on the case started on March
24, 2009 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, March 20-26, 2009).
The court returned Gagik Shamshian guilty and imposed a fine in the amount
of 350,000 AMD (about $ 950). As Gagik Shamshian informed YPC, he intends to
appeal the verdict with the upper court jurisdiction.
