Epress.am News from Armenia
Hrachya Gevorgyan, an Armavir jail prisoner with multiple chronic conditions, died in prison on Wednesday after failing to recover from a 57-day hunger strike he had ended in March, according to a statement issued by the Yerevan-based Helsinki Association for Human Rights.
Gevorgyan, who was sentenced in November 2015 to 8 years in prison for hostage-taking, violence against a representative of authorities, and extortion, was suffering from chronic hepatitis C, chronic bronchitis, Parkinson’s disease, and a pulmonary arterial hypertension; when eating or taking care of personal needs, the prisoner had to rely on the help of other inmates. The convict had in the past gone on a number of hunger strikes to demand that authorities provide him with proper medical care. However, prison officials never ensured that the prisoner underwent any sort treatment which, according to the group of public observers conducting monitoring of Armenia’s correctional institutions, could be classified as a method of torture.
Recall, according to the indictment, Hrachya Gevorgyan and Garik Harutyunyan held hostage Hrachya Gevorgyan’s wife, Naira Harutyunyan, and her son, a minor, asking for ransom from Naira’s father. After they received the money, they released Naira and her son.
Gevorgyan, however, consistently denied the accusations in the course of the 4-year trial process; claimed that Harutyunyan had “organized a conspiracy” against him. He 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 that the accused ceased his fight against the “illegality of the criminal case.” However, the RA Special Investigation Service did not find Gevorgyan’s claims sufficient to open a criminal case against the police official.
Hrachya Gevorgyan in court: