Gagik Tsarukyan Has a Mild Fever, Undergoing Conservative Treatment: Defense Attorney

The leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, will not attend the court hearing scheduled for tomorrow, July 2, at the Armenian Court of Appeals due to being infected with the coronavirus disease. This was stated by one of Tsarukyan's defense attorneys, Emin Khachatryan, in a conversation with NEWS.am.

“We, the lawyers, are ready for the court session to proceed. The court will decide. Tsarukyan participated actively in the first instance court, expressed his stance on the petition, and made his speech,” he said.

Regarding Tsarukyan's health condition, Khachatryan added, “He has a slight fever and is receiving conservative treatment; nevertheless, he is doing fine.”

When asked about the health of Tsarukyan's son, Nver Tsarukyan, he stated, “The situation with my son is improving.”

To the question of whether it is possible for the court session to be postponed until Tsarukyan recovers, the attorney replied, “We will present the medical documents to the court, so that the court respects Mr. Tsarukyan's absence. In any case, these objections are subject to consideration.”

In response to the journalist's observation that the lawyers have also been in contact with Tsarukyan, and when asked whether he plans to undergo a coronavirus test, Khachatryan stated that he intends to get tested tomorrow: “Since the 21st, I haven’t had close contact. I plan to get tested tomorrow, and if it turns out that I am infected, I will also not attend the session. At this moment, I do not have any complaints.”

Earlier, it was reported that the appeals in Tsarukyan's case have been assigned to Judge Mkhitar Papoyan.

It should be noted that Gagik Tsarukyan has been charged under Article 154.2 of the Criminal Code (receiving bribes from voters for candidates, political parties, or referenda, or giving bribes to voters or obstructing the free exercise of the voter's will), which he denies.