Epress.am News from Armenia
Prisoner Armen Hakobyan has announced an indefinite hunger strike at the Vanadzor prison, said the prisoner’s mother Lusabek Hakobyan to Epress.am. The reason behind the hunger strike, is because Hakobyan is suffering from meningoencephalitis which he obtained in prison. According to Hakobyan’s mother, they conducted surgery on him, however, hey transferred him back to the Vanadzor prison before the treatment was complete. “The thing is that the Vanadzor Penitentiary Facility does not have doctors, it only has paramedics,” said Hakobyan.
The prisoner has a doctor in Yerevan, however, the latter refuses to go to Vanadzor so frequently to inspect the patient. After having a surgery on his head, Hakobyan has to submit various blood samples and has to undergo Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which technically is impossible in the Vanadzor prison.
The RA Ministry of Justice Penitentiary Department`s Public relations division head Gor Ghlechyan told Epress.am that Armen Hakobyan underwent surgery and was under the doctors' supervision for a long time. However, based on the information about his condition, the commission decided that he could continue his treatment with medication in prison.