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On 21 July the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) published its decision by which it awarded the application by former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Khachatryan. As Khachatryan’s legal team said in a statement, the ECHR requested the Government of the Republic of Armenia to ensure immediate medical treatment as required for Khachatryan’s state of health in the civil hospital and ensure the involvement of foreign doctors.

It is noted that 64-year old Gagik Khachatryan who has illegally been detained for already 11 months needs immediate spinal stenosis surgery. The failure or delay to perform surgery contains serious and irreversible threats posed to his future health and life. Khachatryans’ attorney group has repeatedly raised this issue in all the instances and competent authorities of the Republic of Armenia, including the investigation, prosecution authorities and courts of the Republic of Armenia, but they have consistently ignored and are ignoring those warnings depriving Gagik Khachatryan of his fundamental rights to receive an adequate medical treatment. The attorney group has also referred to the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia and the human rights organizations.

Moreover, we would like to inform you that since 4 July 2019 3 medical consilia have been conducted with the involvement of leading doctors-specialists of the Republic of Armenia upon the orders of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia and by the request of both the Investigation Authority and the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, and the medical opinion drawn up by the consilia organized on their own initiative proved that Gagik Khachatryan needs spinal stenosis surgical correction which, however, is not possible to perform in the Republic of Armenia as the primary implant was placed abroad and he has been regularly treated since 2015.

The group was finally convinced that being restricted by the illegal logic of this criminal case the state competent authorities will not only refuse to ensure Gagik Khachatryan’s adequate medical treatment but will also impede in all the possible ways its insurance and will continue to keep him under detention posing threat to his life and health. On 11 June 2020 under the Rule No 39 of the European Court of Human Rights by the application sent to the same court his attorney group asked to request the Government of Armenia to transfer Gagik Khachatryan to a civil hospital and permit to receive a professional medical treatment.

According to Khachatryan’s lawyers, the Government trying to refute the opinions of the medical consilia organized on its own initiative, conducted expert examination by the inter-agency forensic commissions within one day and sent an opinion to the ECHR, which allegedly stated that Gagik Khachatryan needs neither surgery, physical therapy nor rehabilitation treatment, and painkillers shall be sufficient for him. Despite this suspicious expert opinion, on 21 July 2020 the European Court of Human Rights rendered a decision on awarding Gagik Khachatryan’s application and requested the Government of the Republic of Armenia to ensure an adequate medical treatment as required for Khachatryan’s health condition and by the medical staff chosen by him.

“We are sorry that even in case of existence of explicit threat to the life and health of the citizen of the Republic of Armenia, we have to ensure the exercise of the right to adequate medical treatment as a result of intervention and based on the request of the European Court of Human Rights. We would like to remind you that former Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan is charged with the abuse of official position and misapplication of the property during his post his state activity from 2008 to 2014. Khachatryan does not plead himself guilty for the charges brought against him and his attorney group has voiced dozens of cases of offences and pressure within the last 11 months, including the illegal and out-of-legal-logic prosecution against Khachatryan’s sons. There have been pressure, illegal searches and prosecution against other members of the family and other relatives as well,” the statement said.