Simonyan and Medline Medical Center Director Placed in Same Cell for Eavesdropping: Hraparak

The Deputy Mayor of Yerevan, Gevorg Simonyan, has been transferred by law enforcement to the Armavir Penitentiary. This information was reported by the Hraparak newspaper.

"As a rule, public officials are held in the Vardashen Penitentiary or the NSS 'Yerevan-Center'; however, they have taken the Deputy Mayor to Armavir, which is under the control of 'zone watchers'. It turns out that he and another individual involved in the same case, Babken Shahumyan, the Director of the Medline Medical Clinic, have been placed in the same cell, which is considered acceptable in the practice of penal institutions," the publication writes.

The newspaper notes that such measures are taken only when the particular cell is subject to eavesdropping, and by placing 'co-conspirators' together, they hope the detainees will talk about the case, leading to new evidence for the investigating bodies.

According to Hraparak’s information, the Deputy Mayor has requested to be moved to a solitary cell.

"It is difficult to say why Simonyan prefers to undergo such a tough ordeal of sitting alone. We should recall that former Defense Minister David Tonoyan is also currently in solitary confinement, as was the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, who spent time alone in the past," the article adds.