Employees of the Vardenis Neuro-Psychological Home are Protesting

A group of employees from the Vardenis Neuro-Psychological Home are currently staging a protest in front of the Vardenis police station, related to the arrest of the director and three staff members.

According to Armenpress, the employees claim that the arrests are unjustified.

“Currently, 60 percent of the employees are participating in the protest. The police have arrested the only psychiatrist at the Neuro-Psychological Home. The detention is baseless,” said Stepan Davtyan, the legal representative of the Neuro-Psychological Home.

It should be noted that yesterday, the Investigative Committee announced that, as a result of extensive operational-search activities conducted by officers of the Main Department of Criminal Police, the Gegharkunik Regional Department, and the Vardenis Division, information was obtained indicating that the director of the Vardenis home had committed a number of legal violations.

As a result of the operational-search activities undertaken by law enforcement officials, on February 16, one of the patients was found in a patient room of one of the home’s departments, tied with a metal chain to a heating unit. Following that, the director of the Neuro-Psychological Home and a group of employees were arrested and brought before the prosecuting authority.

Specifically, one of the patients was performing cleaning work in the director's pigsty, and, at the director's instruction, patients were carrying out economic work instead of the employees of the Neuro-Psychological Home. Furthermore, according to reports, the director subjects the patients to torture and instructs that they be deprived of their allotted tobacco ration and food as per the daily menu.