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Mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghukasyan has been hospitalized after abruptly falling ill at a Yerevan detention facility, according to his lawyer.
Ghukasyan’s lawyer, Zaruhi Postanjyan, said in a statement that her client’s health “sharply deteriorated” while at the facility.
“The penitentiary staff immediately called for emergency medical assistance, and Vardan Ghukasyan was transferred to the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Medical Center,” she said.
Details about the mayor’s current condition are being clarified, the lawyer added.
She claimed that the investigators and the court were aware of Ghukasyan’s health issues but nevertheless kept him in custody without bail. The lawyer did not provide further details.
Ghukasyan faces corruption-related charges and was arrested on October 20.
The Anti-Corruption Court ordered his pre-trial detention for two months without bail, at the request of investigators.
According to the Anti-Corruption Committee, Ghukasyan and the chief architect of Gyumri allegedly conspired to demand a bribe of 4 million drams from a local resident in exchange for falsifying documents and preventing the demolition of an unlawfully constructed building in the city.
Ghukasyan has denied any wrongdoing.