Aghvan Hovsepyan's Health Condition is Poor, He Has Diabetes: Lawyer

The former head of the Investigative Committee, Aghvan Hovsepyan, has been suffering from diabetes for many years. His condition is so severe that he requires constant insulin injections. In an interview with Iravaban.net, his lawyer Sasun Rafayelyan stated that injections are permitted in the detention facility.

“Mr. Hovsepyan has numerous other health issues. We have not yet received the court decision regarding his detention and cannot say whether the court took all of this into account,” mentioned the lawyer.

According to Rafayelyan, when charges were brought against Aghvan Hovsepyan yesterday, he was offered the opportunity to testify, from which he declined. “We refused because the testimony would not have had any significant implications and was merely a formality. The criminal case has been under investigation for a long time, during which the investigating authority did not deem it necessary to hear Mr. Hovsepyan's viewpoint and decided on the charges without listening to him. Giving testimony under such circumstances is a formality,” stated the lawyer, adding that he met with Aghvan Hovsepyan, who is in a combative mood.

The former head of the Investigative Committee is currently located in the RA Ministry of Justice's “Yerevan-Center” penitentiary. Earlier, the Special Investigative Service reported that Aghvan Hovsepyan, who held the position of the Prosecutor General of Armenia from March 18, 2004, to September 13, 2013, and served as the head of the Investigative Committee from July 18, 2014, to June 11, 2018, was effectively involved in the management of several companies engaged in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, he received 190,000,000 AMD in bribes and embezzled property worth 800,000,000 AMD through fraudulent means. Hovsepyan has also been charged with legalizing a total of 1,299,404,414 AMD of property obtained criminally (money laundering).

For the aforementioned criminal activities, Aghvan Hovsepyan has been charged under Articles 310, 311 (Part 4, Item 2), 178 (Part 3, Item 1), and 190 (Part 3, Item 1) of the RA Criminal Code (3 episodes).