Saturday, May 23 2020 17:55

ArmInfo.Gagik Khachatryans' Legal Team claims that an entire state apparatus, with all its might, illegally transferred Gagik Khachatryan from Astghik Medical Center to the Yerevan-Kentron penitentiary, depriving him of his  constitutional right to healthcare. After that, as usual, the  manipulative excuses of state officials began, the statement of  Khachatryan's Legal Team received by ArmInfo reads. 

The legal team specifies, "The RA Ministry of Justice and the RA  Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan, without checking the facts, were  quick to announce that Gagik Khachatryan was allegedly discharged  from Astghik Medical Center by the decision of the center, but we  consider it necessary to note that, unfortunately, the latter do not  fully present the facts and manipulate the reality of the situation,  the evidence of which we will present if necessary.  This is for the  beneficiary authorities' information.  

For now, we will leave you with this-according to the document of  "Astghik" Medical Center, referred to by the Ministry of Justice,  Gagik Khachatryan is discharged on the basis of the decision No.  E-863 of the Director of the "Penitentiary Medicine" SNCO of the RA  Ministry of Justice. We repeat, not by the decision of "Astghik"  Medical Center was he discharged based on improvement of condition,  but on the basis of the decision of the director of the SNCO.  By the  way, according to the Minister's announcement, the discharge took  place at 16:00, but the employees of the penitentiary service of the  RA Ministry of Justice and the doctor of "Penitentiary Medicine  Center" SNCO arrived at the "Astghik" MC at 14:00 to forcibly  transfer Gagik Khachatryan.  

State officials may have possibly anticipated the discharge.   Officials say Gagik Khachatryan has been transferred to continue his  treatment In fact, the above-mentioned officials told the hospital   staff that Gagik Khachatryan was being transferred to another place  to continue the necessary treatment, but in reality he had to be  transferred and was transferred to the penitentiary institution, the  circumstances of which were revealed after the intervention of the  legal team.  Therefore, it should be noted that the detained patient  can be discharged from the hospital in 3 cases:  1.   

At the patient's request 2.   In case of improvement of the patient  3.   At the request of the authorized officials of the RA Ministry of  Justice.  Gagik Khachatryan not only needs surgical treatment of neck  stenosis but also is instructed to continue therapeutic and   rehabilitation treatment As for the first point, we would like to  inform you that Gagik Khachatryan did not express a wish to be  discharged. As for the second point, based on available documents,  including ones at the disposal of the RA Ministry of Justice, Gagik  Khachatryan not only needs surgical treatment of neck stenosis but  also is instructed to continue the therapeutic and rehabilitation  treatment.  

It turns out that Gagik Khachatryan's discharge should have taken  place at the request of the authorised body. It is for that exact  reason we submitted a corresponding inquiry to "Astghik" Medical  Center, where they informed in writing that a request regarding Gagik  Khachatryan's discharge had been sent to the "Penitentiary Medicine  Center" SNCO of the RA Ministry of Health, the response of which will  determinewhether or not Gagik Khachatryan will be discharged. At the  moment, as of 18:36 (22.05.2020), there is no initiative or order to  discharge.  Prior to the transfer, the officials and the doctor who  came with them were also informed about this.  

Moreover, the members of thelegal team presented the above-mentioned  note to them as well.  The RA Penitentiary Service was also informed  about this through the hotline operator.We also sent the note to the  relevant e-mail address of the service and asked them to find out  from the medical center whether Gagik Khachatryan had been discharged  at the time of the transfer or not.The requests and demands have been  deliberately ignored.  And after all this, the RA Ministry of Justice  informs that the state officials do not have a vested interest in  transferring Gagik Khachatryan to a penitentiary institution.  And  finally, the following question: Why did the employees of the RA  Ministry of Justice illegally interrupt Gagik Khachatryan's treatment  again on January 22, 2020 at Astghik MC to transfer him to a  penitentiary institution? 

Why did the Director of the "Penitentiary Medicine" SNCO of the RA  Ministry of Justice demand from the Chief Physician of "Astghik" MC  by letter No. E-535 to discuss the possibility of terminating Gagik  Khachatryan's inpatient treatment in a short period of time? Which  was an obvious example of the state body putting pressure on the  medical center to interrupt Gagik Khachatryan's treatment. Based on  all of this, on 01.04.2020 Gagik Khachatryan's lawyer asked the  director of the SNCO to refrain from unnecessary interference in  Gagik Khachatryan's treatment as well as from putting indirect  pressure on the Civil Medical Center to stop his treatment," the   statement reads.  As ArmInfo previously reported, the RA Ministry of  Justice informed yesterday that Gagik Khachatryan's original document  signed by the doctors on May 22 at 4:00pm was left by the medical  staff in the office of the director of the medical center, and then  mysteriously disappeared.  The ministry also accused Astghik MC of  being interested in keeping Gagik Khachatryan in the said medical  center. "After the" disappearance "of the original document on  Khachatryan's discharge, other information was provided diametrically  opposed to the facts presented in the document. 

It seems that the Astghik medical center refused its decision to  discharge Khachatryan. In this situation, it seems at least  questionable how the decision of the discharge of medical doctors  could change so suddenly, "the Justice Ministry said.  Gagik  Khachatryan is accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale  and abuse of power. Gagik Khachatryan and his relative Karen  Khachatryan (former SRC employee) were detained on August 27. He was  charged under Part 2 of Article 308 of the Criminal Code of the  Republic of Armenia (Misappropriation or embezzlement of funds on an  especially large scale) and part 2 of Article 308 of the Criminal  Code of the Republic of Armenia (Abuse of official authority  entailing reckless grave consequences). He was previously  hospitalized due to health problems.