Epress.am News from Armenia
An independent medical trade union in Armenia is asking that Dr. Vahagn Madoyan, arrested a few days ago and currently in pre-trial detention, be released on bail. The trade union has sent its appeal to the ministries of healthcare and justice, the general prosecutor, the police chief, and the human rights defender (ombudsman).
Madoyan, a doctor in the newly opened maternity ward at the Austrian children's hospital in Gyumri, is being charged under RA Criminal Code Article 316 Section 1 (use of violence against a representative of the authorities), punishable by a fine or up to 5 years' imprisonment. Earlier, GalaTV.am, citing Dr. Madoyan's colleagues, reported [AM] that police beat the doctor prior to detaining him.
"They not only detained, but also beat him, and then detained him, and you know why? The doctor wanted to bring his car from the opposite side of the street, across from his house, and park it in his garage. But he was stopped by two men in a car, who said that he committed a violation. Inside [the car] were ordinary people like us, but it turns out they were Gyumri police officers. This happened after 10:30 pm. Now they claim that they showed [their] license, but no such thing happened, and furthermore, what license could be visible at night? A verbal altercation took place, after which there was a tussle and a brawl; they beat the doctor and then charged him," said Dr. Madoyan's colleagues, who are prepared to go on strike in order to defend their co-worker.