Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08YEREVAN744
2008-09-17 13:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:
COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF AMCIT PLAINTIFFS IN CRIMINAL
how-toVZCZCXRO4778 RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHYE #0744 2611304 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 171304Z SEP 08 FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8023 INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS YEREVAN 000744
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV PGOV CASC KJUS KDEM AM
SUBJECT: COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF AMCIT PLAINTIFFS IN CRIMINAL
PROCEEDINGS
UNCLAS YEREVAN 000744
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV PGOV CASC KJUS KDEM AM
SUBJECT: COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF AMCIT PLAINTIFFS IN CRIMINAL
PROCEEDINGS
1. (U) On September 15, Yerevan's city court ended five years of
legal proceedings by ruling in favor of U.S. citizen plaintiffs
Carolann and George Najarian, granting them the disputed property
and convicting Grigor Igityan, their former business partner in
Armenia, to four and a half years imprisonment for major
embezzlement and tax evasion. The Najarians had alleged that
Igityan had defrauded them by selling the land and photo shop that
they had purchased in his name in 1996 for his own personal gain.
The Najarians claimed that they had made the investments in
Igityan's name because Armenian law did not allow non-Armenian
citizens to own land. They further alleged that due to corruption,
the Armenian prosecutor's office had refused to prosecute the
Armenian business partner. According to Armenian law, if Igityan
does not file an appeal, the verdict will enter into force on
October 15.
2. (SBU) Amcits Carolann and George Najarian, active members of the
American-Armenian community, have been major private donors of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia since the devastating earthquake
in 1988. In September 2003, the Najarians filed a criminal
complaint against Igityan, which the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office
initially dismissed in December 2003. The Prosecutor General
ordered the Yerevan prosecutor to reopen the case in March 2004.
The Yerevan prosecutor again dismissed the case in October 2004, but
this time the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court equivalent) ordered
it to reopen the investigation in April 2005. The Najarians allege
that while the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office reopened the case in
response to the Court of Cassation opinion, due to corruption it had
intimidated witnesses to change testimony harmful to Igityan. Also,
court hearings were frequently postponed due to "illness" or
"incapacitation" of the defendant or his attorney.
3. (SBU) COMMENT: Because of the nature of the charges and the
frequency with which many Armenian-Americans encounter similar
fraudulent behavior when they attempt to do business in Armenia, the
trial drew much attention from the American-Armenian community.
Despite the impediments set up in the judicial process, we view this
verdict as a small triumph for the independence of Armenia's
judiciary.
PENNINGTON
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV PGOV CASC KJUS KDEM AM
SUBJECT: COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF AMCIT PLAINTIFFS IN CRIMINAL
PROCEEDINGS
1. (U) On September 15, Yerevan's city court ended five years of
legal proceedings by ruling in favor of U.S. citizen plaintiffs
Carolann and George Najarian, granting them the disputed property
and convicting Grigor Igityan, their former business partner in
Armenia, to four and a half years imprisonment for major
embezzlement and tax evasion. The Najarians had alleged that
Igityan had defrauded them by selling the land and photo shop that
they had purchased in his name in 1996 for his own personal gain.
The Najarians claimed that they had made the investments in
Igityan's name because Armenian law did not allow non-Armenian
citizens to own land. They further alleged that due to corruption,
the Armenian prosecutor's office had refused to prosecute the
Armenian business partner. According to Armenian law, if Igityan
does not file an appeal, the verdict will enter into force on
October 15.
2. (SBU) Amcits Carolann and George Najarian, active members of the
American-Armenian community, have been major private donors of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia since the devastating earthquake
in 1988. In September 2003, the Najarians filed a criminal
complaint against Igityan, which the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office
initially dismissed in December 2003. The Prosecutor General
ordered the Yerevan prosecutor to reopen the case in March 2004.
The Yerevan prosecutor again dismissed the case in October 2004, but
this time the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court equivalent) ordered
it to reopen the investigation in April 2005. The Najarians allege
that while the Yerevan Prosecutor's Office reopened the case in
response to the Court of Cassation opinion, due to corruption it had
intimidated witnesses to change testimony harmful to Igityan. Also,
court hearings were frequently postponed due to "illness" or
"incapacitation" of the defendant or his attorney.
3. (SBU) COMMENT: Because of the nature of the charges and the
frequency with which many Armenian-Americans encounter similar
fraudulent behavior when they attempt to do business in Armenia, the
trial drew much attention from the American-Armenian community.
Despite the impediments set up in the judicial process, we view this
verdict as a small triumph for the independence of Armenia's
judiciary.
PENNINGTON