Nagorno-Karabakh convicts and imprisons conscientious objector

For Immediate Release
February 15, 2012

ASKERAN, Nagorno-Karabakh—On December 30, 2011, 18-year-old Karen Harutyunyan, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was convicted by Judge Beglaryan of the Court of First Instance of the city of Askeran for refusing military service. He was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.

During the trial, Harutyunyan testified that he is willing to perform alternative civilian service, provided it is not in any way connected to or controlled by the military. His lawyers attempted to explain to the judge that international legal standards, including the recent decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Bayatyan v. Armenia, protect the right of conscientious objection to military service. Judge Beglaryan refused to consider these precedents and repeatedly interrupted Mr. Harutyunyan’s lawyers, telling them that they had only “three minutes” to present their arguments.

“Karen Harutyunyan intends to appeal Judge Beglaryan’s decision,” states Arayik Khachatryan, local spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We hope that the appeal court will apply the well-established international norms, including the Bayatyan decision, and rule that Mr. Harutyunyan’s criminal conviction is unlawful.”

Media Contacts:
J.R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5600
Tigran Harutyunyan, Armenian-speaking contact, tel. +374 10 274 544
Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015
Britain: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +44 7775 833880

Source: JW Media

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