Manvel Grigoryan’s defense lawyer complains of public pressure
19.06.2018,
16:18
Karen Kamalyan, a defense lawyer for Armenian parliament member Manvel Grigoryan, who was stripped today of parliamentary immunity by his fellow MPs who also allowed the law-enforcement authorities to prosecute him on charges of embezzlement and illegally kept arms, complained of what he described as ‘public pressure.’
YEREVAN, June 19. /ARKA/. Karen Kamalyan, a defense lawyer for Armenian parliament member Manvel Grigoryan, who was stripped today of parliamentary immunity by his fellow MPs who also allowed the law-enforcement authorities to prosecute him on charges of embezzlement and illegally kept arms, complained of what he described as ‘public pressure.’
Manvel Grigoryan was detained by the National Security Service in his hometown of Etchmiadzin on June 16 after security forces raided his homes in Etchmiadzin and a nearby village finding illegally acquired weapons and stockpiles of food and other supplies, including anti-tank guns and rocket-propelled grenades, meant for the armed forces.
Karen Kamalyan argued that the public opinion has created a negative image of Manvel Grigoryan, which, regardless of the degree of his guilt, influences the defense of the accused. He said many of his peers argue that no defense lawyer should undertake Grigoryan’s defense.
“In any legal and democratic state, every citizen should have a presumption of innocence and the right to defense,’ Kamalyan said. ‘Equality of all before the law is the basis of the rule of law," he added. Kamalyan also said that Grigoryan has cancer and suffers from diabetes and needs constant medical help. -0-
Manvel Grigoryan was detained by the National Security Service in his hometown of Etchmiadzin on June 16 after security forces raided his homes in Etchmiadzin and a nearby village finding illegally acquired weapons and stockpiles of food and other supplies, including anti-tank guns and rocket-propelled grenades, meant for the armed forces.
Karen Kamalyan argued that the public opinion has created a negative image of Manvel Grigoryan, which, regardless of the degree of his guilt, influences the defense of the accused. He said many of his peers argue that no defense lawyer should undertake Grigoryan’s defense.
“In any legal and democratic state, every citizen should have a presumption of innocence and the right to defense,’ Kamalyan said. ‘Equality of all before the law is the basis of the rule of law," he added. Kamalyan also said that Grigoryan has cancer and suffers from diabetes and needs constant medical help. -0-
