Famous lawyers Geoffrey Robertson, Amal Clooney may join Samvel Karapetyan’s defense team

News.am

Renowned Australian British lawyer and legal scholar Geoffrey Robertson (King’s Counsel, KC) has expressed his deep concern about the excessively harsh criminal procedural measures applied against Russian Armenian entrepreneur and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, and emphasized the political context of the charges brought against him in Armenia, Karapetyan’s defense council has announced in a statement.

The statement adds as follows: “In Robertson’s assessment, the use of detention during the investigation phase, which was accompanied by false and insufficient justifications presented by the competent authorities, unreasoned decisions adopted by the courts, contradicts the principle of the rule of law and the guarantees provided for by international law.

Mr. Robertson is currently considering the possibility of joining the international group of lawyers defending Mr. Samvel Karapetyan and supporting the group’s petitions being filed with international organizations.

In the further phases of the representation at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the engagement of [another famous lawyer] Ms. Amal Clooney in the process may also be formally considered. Geoffrey Robertson is the founder and director of Doughty Street Chambers firm. He previously represented, with Amal Clooney, Armenia’s interests in the case of legal liability for genocide denial. Geoffrey Robertson is also known for his great commitment to the matter of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the protection of the rights of the [Armenian] people of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh].”