Criminal Case Initiated Against Director of Ijevan Medical Center for Performing Free Surgeries

The trial of Eduard Grigoryan, the director of the Ijevan Medical Center, has resumed at the Tavush Regional Court. Grigoryan is accused of violating Article 64 of the RA Law on 'Military Service and the Status of Military Personnel' and Section 1 of the RA Government Decision No. 318-N dated March 4, 2014, during his tenure as the commander (Lieutenant Colonel of Medical Service) at the military unit 'Berd's Separate Medical Detachment' from 2009 to 2019. It is alleged that he provided free surgical assistance to several local residents of Tavush region without an approved fee schedule.

According to the charges, Grigoryan operated on a resident of Paravakar village in Tavush region without collecting the 200,000 AMD fee, and similarly provided free surgeries to residents of Movses, Navur, and Vazashen villages, resulting in a total damage of 670,000 AMD to the military hospital. In 2019, the criminal case was sent to the Tavush Regional Court with an accusatory conclusion.

Eduard Grigoryan stated in court that he committed the alleged act because the patients were unable to pay, and he personally compensated the state for the damage amounting to 670,000 AMD. Judge Melkonyan decided in 2019 to terminate the proceedings of the criminal case and to stop the prosecution, considering that Grigoryan had acted out of compassion and, although he did not collect the stipulated amounts from the operated individuals, he restored the health of the local residents from the border villages of Paravakar, Movses, Navur, and Vazashen.

However, the decision of the court was appealed by Artak Avetisyan, Deputy Military Prosecutor of the Lori Garrison, and on February 21, 2020, the appellate court partially upheld the appeal, annulled the decision of the Tavush Regional Court, and sent the case back to the first-instance court for re-examination. It is noteworthy that Eduard Grigoryan was appointed as the director of the Ijevan Medical Center on December 27, 2019.