International Media Reacts to ECHR's Decision in Gagik Khachatryan Case: Legal Team

The statement of the Khachatryan legal team. On July 21 of this year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued its decision regarding the former Minister of Finance of Armenia, Gagik Khachatryan. The ECHR has demanded that the Armenian government ensure immediate medical treatment for Khachatryan's health condition in a civilian hospital, including the involvement of foreign doctors.

This decision has received widespread coverage in both Armenian and international media.

Notably, Yahoo Finance has commented on the matter. It specifically stated that the 64-year-old figure, Gagik Khachatryan, who has been unlawfully imprisoned for 11 months, urgently needs surgical treatment, and that failure to provide it, or delays in doing so, pose serious and irreversible risks to his health and life, according to the legal team. The publication quoted the legal team's observation that the issue has been systematically ignored in all Armenian courts, depriving Gagik Khachatryan of his fundamental right to receive adequate medical care.

Asian Spectator quoted Khachatryan's lawyer, Yerem Sargsyan, who stated, "It is unfortunate that even in the presence of a clear threat to the life and health of an Armenian citizen, the implementation of the right to medical treatment is forced to be ensured by the ECHR's demand."

Morningstar noted that since 2018, several criminal cases have been initiated in Armenia against former politicians, including Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan, as well as the current parliamentary opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan. Despite the abundance of investigations and criminal cases, there has yet to be a judicial act in force regarding any of the so-called high-profile cases. Instead, the country has found itself in a bitter mix of discussions, with risks of forming unfavorable perceptions regarding internal stability.