Epress.am News from Armenia
Hrachya Gevorgyan, a convict at Yerevan's Nubarashen prison who has previously been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C, chronic bronchitis, Parkinson's disease, and high blood pressure, has received a letter from Armenia's Justice Ministry, which says that the prisoner does not actually have Parkinson's disease, Nina Karapetyants, a Helsinki Association lawyer representing Gevorgyan, told Epress.am on Wednesday. At the same time, the lawyer said, the convict's health condition remains just as dire and continues to deteriorate.
“Currently I'm trying to obtain all the documents regarding Gevorgyan's health in order to understand how ministry officials arrived at such a conclusion. How do you misdiagnose someone with Parkinson's disease?” the lawyer said, adding that the prisoner intends to launch a hunger strike in demand of proper medical treatment.
“Given his state of health, this is an extreme measure. I'm trying to convince him not to go on a hunger strike until we receive the answers to our appeal letters. We are not too hopeful, but we are waiting on answers from two investigators and the Prosecutor General,” Karapetyants stated.
Hrachya Gevorgyan was sentenced to 8 years in prison in November last year for hostage-taking, violence against a representative of authorities, and extortion. According to the indictment, Hrachya Gevorgyan held hostage his wife, Naira Harutyunyan, and her son, a minor, asking for ransom from Naira's father. After he received the money, prosecutors insist, he released the hostages.
Gevorgyan, however, has denied the accusations during the entirety of the 4-year trial process; he insists that Harutyunyan “organized a conspiracy” against him. He has also repeatedly stated that the former Chief of the Police Criminal Investigation Unit Artur Gevorgyan for three months attempted to convince him not to protest against the charges. Then, as stated by Gevorgyan, the former police chief decided to make threats to ensure the accused ceases his fight against the “illegality of the criminal case” against him. However, the RA Special Investigation Service did not find the convict's claims sufficient to open a criminal case against the police official.