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The whole process carried out against famous Armenian doctor, opposition Armenia alliance MP Armen Charchyan has turned from a criminal prosecution and a matter of measure of restraint into torture, Aram Vardevanyan, a lawmaker from the same faction, told reporters in the parliament on Tuesday.

“We do not ask them to end the criminal prosecution. We simply insist that arrest cannot be a measure of restraint imposed on him,” he said.

“They have launched a criminal case and want to conduct an investigation, so let them proceed with it. How can a criminal investigation be identified with arrest?” Vardevanyan said, stating it goes to show that the arrest “has turned into a punishment”.

“It has only one purpose: to punish him. They have decided to punish our colleague even at the cost of destroying his health. What do they gain from it?” he noted.

Vardevanyan said that they plan to visit Charchyan in prison on Wednesday and maintain constant contact with his lawyer Erik Aleksanyan, who said that in addition to his diabetes, Professor Charchyan has also been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Charchyan, the former head of the Izmirlian Medical Center, has been charged for allegedly pressuring his employees to participate in the June 20 parliamentary elections and vote for the Armenia bloc.