Judicial Hearing, Railways, Water Supply, Injured MP

Judicial Body Ends Hearings On Defiant Judge>By Karine Kalantarian>>The presidentially appointed Council of Justice overseeing Armenia's>courts wrapped up Thursday two-day hearings on punitive action sought>by another judicial body against a judge who was responsible for one>of the most sensational acquittals in the country's history.>>The government-controlled Judicial Department instituted disciplinary>proceedings against Pargev Ohanian, a judge of a district court in>Yerevan, on September 4, less than two months after he acquitted two>businessmen controversially prosecuted by the Armenian authorities.>The move, which could result in Ohanian's dismissal, is seen by many>as a retaliation for a rare court defeat suffered by law-enforcement>bodies and the National Security Service (NSS) in particular.>>The Judicial Department claimed that Ohanian committed serious>violations of Armenian law while adjudicating on two dozen criminal>and civil cases. The Council of Justice's Disciplinary Commission>backed the allegations and detailed them at the start of the public>hearings on Wednesday. Most of the alleged violations relate to what>the Judicial Department regards as wrong verdicts handed down by>Ohanian.>>Neither the Judicial Department, nor the Disciplinary Commission>specified just how Ohanian should be sanctioned. Under the Armenian>constitution, the Council of Justice can go as far as to ask>President Robert Kocharian to fire the judge. Hovannes Manukian, a>senior judge who presided over the hearings, said the council will>announce its decision on October 12.>>The judicial bodies found no violations in the July 16 acquittal of>Gagik Hakobian, the main owner of the Royal Armenia coffee packaging>company, and one of its top executives, Aram Ghazarian. They were>arrested and charged with fraud in October 2005 after publicly>accusing senior customs officials of corruption. The NSS demanded>that they be sentenced to at least ten years in prison.>>However, Ohanian dismissed the accusations as baseless and ordered>the immediate release of the two men. It was the first time that the>Armenian successor to the former KGB lost a major court case.>>Addressing the Council of Justice at the end of the hearings, Ohanian>again implied that he believes he is being penalized for his handling>of the Royal Armenia case. `Distinguished Council, do not turn me>into a hero,' he said. `I simply did my job, I carried out justice.>At least, I tried to apply the law.'>>Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian, who also has considerable>influence on the Armenian judiciary, denied this week any link>between the disciplinary action and the Royal Armenia ruling.>>Speaking at the hearings on Wednesday, Ohanian's defense counsel,>Hayk Alumian, dismissed the accusations brought against his client.>`In effect, members of the Disciplinary Commission are calling into>question rulings that went into force in accordance with law,' he>said. `This is inadmissible.'>>Alumian also complained that the department is refusing to specify>when it decided to inspect the work of the defiant judge. `These were>inspections carried out during an unknown period of time because>there are no dates on written results of those inspections,' he said.>`Nor do they contain the names of those people who carried out those>inspections.'>>>ONLY TWO COMPANIES SHOW INTEREST IN ARMENIAN RAILWAY>By M. Alkhazashvili>(Translated by Diana Dundua)>The Messenger, Georgia>Sept 27 2007>>Only two companies-Indian Railways and Russian Railways-are vying>for the Armenian Railways tender, reports the Regnum news agency.>>The financial condition of the two companies, as well as their>technical and practical expertise, will be taken into account before>they are permitted to partake in the tender, and a decision will be>announced on October 15.>>The Armenian government announced in 2006 that it would lease JSC>Armenian Railway for 30 years with the possibility of extending the>term by a further 20 years.>>According to Minister of Communication and Transport Andranik Manukian,>the company which secures the tender must put up an advance of USD>10 million, pay two percent of profit on cargo transportation to the>government, and invest USD 170 million over a ten-year period.>>>>YEREVAN WATER VOWS TO INVEST MILLIONS TO IMPROVE WATER SUPPLIES>ARMENPRESS>Sept 26 2007>>YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS: A chief executive of the Yerevan>Water company said today it has invested $8 million since 2006 January>1, to improve water supplies and waste water removal operations in>the Armenian capital.>>Serge Popoff, director general of the company, managed by French>General des Aux, said $3.5 million were invested in infrastructure>improvement and $2.5 million were spent on acquisition of new>equipment.>>Serge Popoff said the company expects to get an $18 million credit>from the World Bank to further improve water supplies and waste>water removal and buy new equipment and machines. He said 17 million>more of US Dollars, to generate from tariffs, will be invested into>the company.>>According to him, about 80 percent of drinking water is lost on the>way to customers. The objective, he said, is to reduce water losses>50 percent in the next ten years. By that time 95 percent of Yerevan>residents will be having 24-hour water supplies.>>Popoff also said a new modern laboratory, worth 120 million Drams,>will be established for regular checks of water quality.>>>WOUNDED MP STILL IN INTENSIVE CARE>By Hovannes Shoghikian and Astghik Bedevian>Radio Liberty, Czech Republic>Sept 27 2007>>A wealthy member of Armenia's parliament affiliated with the governing>Republican Party (HHK) remained in intensive care in a Moscow hospital>on Thursday one day after being shot and seriously wounded at a>local casino.>>Police in the Russian capital, meanwhile, launched a criminal>investigation into what they believe was an attempt on the life of>businessman Tigran Arzakantsian. A senior official at the Moscow>police department, Mikhail Ionkin, told RFE/RL that investigators>have not yet identified the assailants.>>Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General said its permanent>representative to Russia met with Russian law-enforcement officials>conducting the inquiry and received assurances that "all necessary>measures are being taken to clarify all circumstances of the murder>attempt and identify the guilty individuals.">>Arzakantsian, who owns one of Armenia's largest brandy companies,>was shot at the casino of Moscow's exclusive Metropol Hotel early>Wednesday in still unclear circumstances. He was rushed to hospital>and underwent surgery that lasted for several hours.>>"His condition is evaluated as grave," Viktor Kaznacheyev, chief>doctor at the Sklifosovsky medical center, told RFE/RL. "He remains>in intensive care.">>According to Eduard Sharmazanov, an HHK spokesman, Arzakantsian, 41,>regained consciousness and was even able to speak on Thursday.>>Both Sharmazanov and a senior HHK lawmaker, Samvel Nikoyan, said they>know few details of the shooting incident but are convinced that the>attackers tried to kill Arzakantsian. In Nikoyan's words, they were>said to have a distinctly Caucasian appearance and may have therefore>been Armenians.>>Arzakantsian, who is reputed to be a keen gambler, had already been>hospitalized after being beaten up at another Moscow casino in March>2006. Reports in the Armenian press attributed the incident to a>gambling dispute, saying that he lost as much as $800,000 on a single>night and failed to pay up. Arzakantsian denied those reports.>>The Russian Regnum news agency cited unnamed law-enforcement sources>as saying said that Arzakantsian was a frequent guest at the Metropol>casino, having visited it for 33 times this year alone. His visits>to the National Assembly in Yerevan have been far more rare.