Emergency Motion Filed to Change Charchyan's Pretrial Restraint

The former director of the Izmirlian Medical Center and Member of Parliament from the Armenia bloc, Armen Charchyan, has filed an emergency motion in court to change his pretrial restriction. This was announced by his attorney, Erik Aleksanyan, in an interview with "Factinfo."

As previously reported, on July 21, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Vahe Misakyan, had released Charchyan from custody, approving his lawyers' motion for release on bail fixed at 15 million AMD. However, Prosecutor Margaryan filed an appeal demanding the annulment of the court's bail decision and the re-arrest of Charchyan. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal, under Judge Rubik Mkhitaryan, upheld the prosecutor's appeal, leading Charchyan to voluntarily present himself to the penitentiary facility and be taken into custody again.

Charchyan's health condition has sharply deteriorated; he was transferred to a civilian hospital on August 24, where he was diagnosed with an acute myocardial infarction that developed while he was still in the penitentiary facility. Additionally, he has been diagnosed with stage III hypertension (crisis state), heart failure (II functional class), and severe insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes, along with chronic kidney failure.

Attorney Erik Aleksanyan informed the media that Charchyan's health condition remains unchanged. Due to his health issues, the defense has submitted a motion to the court for an emergency session to replace Charchyan's pretrial detention with bail, proposing a sum of 20 million AMD. As of now, there is no information regarding the scheduling of a court session. The basis for the motion cites Charchyan's health condition as a new circumstance that has emerged.

Furthermore, it was noted that Charchyan also suffers from diabetes, which, according to Government Decision 825-N, is incompatible with detention. Therefore, under these conditions, Charchyan cannot be held in custody. According to Aleksanyan, they also plan to file a request with the administration of the Vardashen Penitentiary to seek a medical commission's conclusion regarding his condition.

“After receiving the conclusion, if it confirms the information available in the relevant epicrisis and thereby validates that there is a medical condition incompatible with detention, the court must urgently convene and discuss the issue of changing the pretrial measure,” Aleksanyan noted.

It is worth recalling that an audio recording was published on a Telegram channel in which Armen Charchyan, during a meeting with staff on the morning of June 18, urged employees to participate compulsory in the elections, stating that he would know if anyone chose not to participate.

Following the publication of the recording, a criminal case was initiated by the Special Investigative Service under Article 154.2 of the RA Criminal Code. Charchyan was first summoned and then arrested. His defense filed an appeal against his arrest, which was granted on the day of the vote, and he was released by court decision.

On June 21, the Prosecutor's Office issued a statement indicating that the Central Election Commission had approved the motions to initiate prosecution against Armen Charchyan and to deprive him of his freedom. After receiving the CEC's consent, the Special Investigative Service charged Charchyan under Article 154.2 of the RA Criminal Code and filed a motion to select detention as a pretrial measure, which was partially granted by Judge Arminé Meliksetyan. The criminal case is currently under the jurisdiction of Judge Vahe Misakyan of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.