ECHR Grants Gagik Khachatryan's Application

The legal team of Gagik Khachatryan has issued a statement indicating that on July 21, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) published its decision to grant the application of the former Armenian Minister of Finance, Gagik Khachatryan. The ECHR demanded that the Armenian government ensure immediate, adequate medical treatment for Khachatryan in a civilian hospital, including by foreign doctors.

64-year-old Gagik Khachatryan, who has been unlawfully detained for 11 months, requires urgent surgical treatment for spinal stenosis, the failure to perform which, and delays in execution pose serious and irreversible risks to his health and life. Khachatryan's legal team has repeatedly raised this issue in all competent bodies in Armenia, including law enforcement, the prosecutor's office, and Armenian courts, but these authorities have consistently ignored and continue to ignore these warnings, depriving Gagik Khachatryan of his fundamental rights to receive adequate medical treatment.

The legal team has also appealed to the Ombudsman of Armenia and human rights organizations. Furthermore, it should be noted that at the request of both the law enforcement agency and the Minister of Justice, three medical consultations were conducted under the orders of the Minister of Health with the participation of leading medical specialists in Armenia, starting from July 4, 2019. The conclusions provided by these consultations have confirmed that Gagik Khachatryan requires surgical correction for spinal stenosis, which, however, cannot be performed in Armenia, as the primary implant was placed abroad and he has been undergoing treatment since 2015.

Finally convinced that competent state authorities, constrained by the illegal logic of this criminal case, will not only fail to ensure adequate treatment for Gagik Khachatryan but will also obstruct its implementation by all possible means and continue to keep him in detention, endangering his life and health, on June 11, 2020, his legal team submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights under Rule 39 of the Court's Rules, requesting the Government of Armenia to transfer Gagik Khachatryan to a civilian hospital and allow him to receive professional medical treatment.

In an attempt to counter the conclusions of the medical consultations conducted at its own initiative, the government carried out an inter-agency forensic examination within a day and sent a conclusion to the ECHR stating that Gagik Khachatryan reportedly does not need surgery or physiotherapy and rehabilitation treatment, but can merely be satisfied with painkillers. Despite the existence of this dubious expert conclusion, the European Court of Human Rights decided on July 21, 2020, to grant Gagik Khachatryan's application and demanded that the Armenian government ensure that Gagik Khachatryan receives adequate medical assistance commensurate with his health condition by the medical personnel he selects.

We regret that even in the presence of such obvious dangers to the life and health of an Armenian citizen, we are compelled to achieve the realization of the right to adequate medical treatment only through the intervention and demand of the European Court of Human Rights.

It is recalled that former Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan is accused of alleged abuse of official position and misappropriation of property during his public service from 2008 to 2014. Khachatryan denies the charges against him, and his legal team has raised numerous violations and pressures during the 11 months, including the illegal and unprincipled persecution against his sons. Such pressures and illegal searches and persecutions have also manifested against other family members and relatives.