Gagik Khachatryan receiving necessary and appropriate medical care in prison in accordance with law – Health Ministry

Former Chairman of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee Gagik Khachatryan is receiving the necessary and appropriate medical care in prison in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Mariam Tsatryan, spokesperson for Armenia’s Health Minister, said this in a Facebook post, urging people to refrain from unnecessary speculation.

“Gagik Khachatryan, and persons deprived of their liberty in general, receive the necessary and appropriate medical care and services in penitentiary institutions in accordance with the procedure established by law and, where necessary, are referred for specialised medical examinations,” she wrote.

Earlier, the Investigative Committee said urgent investigative and procedural actions had been carried out as part of criminal proceedings initiated over alleged receipt of a particularly large bribe and money laundering on a particularly large scale. The actions were conducted at the homes of former State Revenue Committee Chairman Gagik Khachatryan and his son, as well as at the offices and branches of around 21 companies affiliated with them.

Khachatryan was detained on September 1. The Investigative Committee filed a motion with the court seeking his detention.

On September 18, Khachatryan’s defence team issued a statement saying that, 16 days after he was remanded in custody and transferred to the Yerevan-Centre penitentiary institution, the 71-year-old had still not received medical care appropriate to his health condition despite numerous motions filed by the defence.

According to the defence team, Khachatryan had not been visited by his treating physician or a doctor with the relevant specialisation, had not been transferred to a specialised medical facility and had not undergone the necessary examinations.

At the initiative of the Khachatryan family, German doctor Professor Nils Hansen-Algenstaedt, who performed Khachatryan’s surgery, travelled to Armenia. The lawyers requested permission for the doctor to visit and examine his patient at the Yerevan-Centre penitentiary institution, but the visit was not authorised.