Court Deliberates on Charchyan's Preventive Measure

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Vahe Misakyan, has left for a consultative room to make a decision on the preventive measure regarding Armen Charchyan.

As previously reported, the court is discussing the issue of the preventive measure for Armen Charchyan. The defense has requested the application of bail in the amount of 10 million AMD. Meanwhile, the prosecution is demanding that the preventive measure of detention imposed on Armen Charchyan, the former director of the Izmirlian Medical Center and a candidate for deputy from the Armenia alliance, remain unchanged.

Particularly, the prosecuting attorney Margaryan objected to the change in Charchyan's preventive measure, arguing that the risks of obstruction still exist. According to him, there are 280 individuals with the status of witnesses in the criminal case, of whom 49 have been summoned as witnesses. The prosecutor noted that there is no doubt cast on the characteristics of Charchyan’s personality, but they believe this does not lessen his influence. In other words, the prosecutor believes that the professor has a reputation and can influence the subsequent investigations of the case, thus recommending the rejection of the request for bail and maintaining the detention as the preventive measure.

Defense attorney Erik Aleksanyan responded to the prosecutor's objections, stating that the pre-trial investigation has been completed, which significantly reduces the risks of obstruction. The attorney pointed out that if there were absolutely no risks, a motion would have been filed to eliminate the preventive measure altogether.

Armen Charchyan mentioned that he has performed at least 20-30 complex surgeries each month, which others are unable to perform, managing around 200-250 surgeries in total per month and providing approximately 550 consultations. He emphasized that during his month of detention, he was unable to carry out these necessary complex surgeries, depriving citizens of such crucial medical procedures.

After hearing the positions of both sides, the court has left for the consultative room to make its decision. The court's ruling will be announced tomorrow at 12:00 PM.

It is worth mentioning that a recording was published on a Telegram channel, where Armen Charchyan urged his employees to participate in the elections during a meeting on the morning of June 18. Charchyan indicated that he would know if anyone failed to participate in the elections. Following the release of the recording, a criminal case was initiated by the Investigative Committee based on the relevant characteristics of Article 154.2, Part 4, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code, which led to Charchyan being detained and subsequently arrested.

The defense appealed against the decision to detain Charchyan, which was granted on the day of the election, and he was released by the court's decision. On June 21, the prosecution issued a statement confirming that the Central Electoral Commission had approved the requests for prosecution and for depriving Charchyan of his liberty. After obtaining the CEC's consent, the Investigative Committee charged Armen Charchyan under Article 154.2, Part 4, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code and filed a motion with the court to impose detention as a preventive measure, which was partially granted by Judge Armine Meliksetyan.