Lawyer Alerts of Prisoner’s Life Being Under Threat

Prisoner Hrachya Gevorgyan’s (pictured) life is under threat, alerted the prisoner’s lawyer Lyudvig Avetisyan to Helsinki Association Human Rights NGO. 

Last week, the ill Hrachya Gevoryan was transferred from the Armenia medical center to the “Prisoners' Hospital” Penitentiary where the prisoner, once again, felt ill and very weak and was unable to walk. He was brought with a wheelchair when meeting with his lawyer.

“Gevorgyan was unable to speak, he was only able to express through writing that his life was in danger and he was attempted to be poisoned in the prison and asked to meet with journalists. The Helsinki Association immediately informed the Ombudsman’s office’s quick response team and representatives of monitoring groups at the prison. The Ombudsman’s team promised to make a decision after speaking to the lawyer, while monitoring group promised to visit the prison by tomorrow, the latest,” writes Helsinki Association website.

Gevorgyan was charged with taking, his legal wife, Naira Harutyunyan and her minor son as hostages and demanding ransom from Harutyunyan’s father for their release. He denied the charge. During the last 2 years he stated multiple that the Mashtots Interior Affairs Department Criminal Investigation Division former Police Chief Artur Gevorgyan had threatened him, however that was not a sufficient grounds for the Special Investigatory Service to initiate a criminal case.

According to the defendant, Artur Gevorgyan had demanded to meet with him a few times, and met with him once, presenting himself to the prison staff as a relative of the defendant. According to Hrachya Gevorgyan, during the meeting the police representative said that he would not let the defendant get out of jail and keep him there until he dies .