The legal team representing Gagik Khachatryan, the former Chairperson of the State Revenues Committee and the former Minister of Finance, will appeal the decision of the Yerevan general jurisdiction court (judge Artush Gabrielyan presiding) on the motion submitted by the National Security Service. The National Security Service had filed a motion to detain Gagik Khachatryan on remand.
Gagik Khachatryan’s lawyer’s team released a statement.
“The court rejected our request to release Khachatryan on bail. This decision was not unexpected for us. However, the court decision contains some obvious points that could not be legally ignored. In other words, there were obvious grounds to release him from detention, but the court ignored them,” said Yerem Sargsyan, Gagik Khachatryan’s lawyer.
Gagik Khachatryan’s lawyers had motioned the court to consider bail as an alternative to detention. They had suggested setting the bail at 230 million AMD. The court failed to provide any explanation as to why it decided that, if released from detention, Gagik Khachatryan would hide from the investigation authorities or hinder the investigation, given the fact that he had been free for nearly 6 months before that, under a signed pledge not to leave, and had not once tried to hide or hinder the investigation, even though he was well aware of the process against him.
As for Gagik Khachatryan’s health condition, the lawyer Yerem Sargsyan emphasized once again that it remains quite serious.
“There are relevant medical documents indicating that Khachatryan must be released. It’s a fact. Unfortunately, both the investigation authorities and the prosecutor’s office, as well as the courts do not react appropriately and sufficiently to these documents and to the doctors’ warnings about Gagik Khachatryan’s health. It is already proven that the inaction of the RA state bodies has already caused significant damage to Gagik Khachatryan’s health. If this inaction continues, it may have serious and irreparable consequences, and the state will be responsible for this,” Yerem Sargsyan said.
To note, while in Germany, Gagik Khachatryan interrupted his mandatory post-surgery treatment and returned to the Republic of Armenia at the first call of the investigator, and reported to the investigative authorities, so that his presence could contribute to a complete and objective investigation. However, he needs a second surgery.
Gagik Khachatryan, the former Minister of Finance and the former Chairperson of the State Revenues Committee has been in detention for a month already. He is accused of the alleged abuse of power and misuse of state property while in public service from 2008 to 2014.
Khachatryan does not accept the charges against him. His lawyer claims that the court does not have a shred of evidence that would allow it to form reasonable suspicion that the crime described in Article 179, paragraph 3(1) of the RA Criminal Code has occurred and that Gagik Khachatryan may have any connection with it.
