On 18 December, the trial in the case of Judge Arusyak Aleksanyan, her assistant Tamara Petrosyan and Lawyer Erik Aleksanyan was continued in the Anti-Corruption Court.
On 17 October, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Council approved the petitions of the General Prosecutor’s Office regarding the initiation of criminal prosecution against Judge Arusyak Aleksanyan and provided consent to deprivation of liberty. Within the framework of the same case, the lawyer Erik Aleksanyan was also charged under Article 46-441 of the Criminal Code, that is, he assisted an official in abusing office or official powers or the influence caused by them or exceeding the powers. In the framework of this case, Arusyak Aleksanyan’s assistant Tamara Petrosyan was also charged.
The defendants do not accept the charges against them.
According to Iravaban.net, the issue of extending the measure of restraint against Arusyak Aleksanyan, who is in custody, was discussed during the session. It should be noted that the judge has been in custody for about 1 year and 2 months. Lawyer Andranik Manukyan interceded to replace the arrest by house arrest, and apply bail if necessary.
It should be noted that the basis for keeping Aleksanyan in custody is the possibility of having illegal influence on witnesses and other defendants. The public prosecutor noted that only after the questioning of the witnesses, the question of changing the restraining order can be considered.
Manukyan mentioned that although the witnesses have not been interrogated yet, when the detention period was extended last time, it was foreseeable that they would not be able to examine evidence to that extent during those 3 months. At the same time, the defense attorney noted that the parties to the trial, as well as the judge, did everything to organize the process. “I think this practice has a very big problem with Article 27 of the Constitution (Personal Liberty). Keep in mind the circumstances I mentioned when giving the reasoning “nothing has changed.”
In addition, the lawyer stated that her health condition worsened during his detention.
“We are dealing with human health, therefore, every day and hour is important. Thank God, we do not have an irreversible situation, as far as I am aware, but no one can guarantee that one day objectively existing slow processes will not lead to an irreversible consequence. Most of the health problems are related to the heart,” Andranik Manukyan said.
The Presiding Judge, Vahe Dolmazyan, wondered whether it is possible to publish information containing medical secrets, is Arusyak Aleksanyan against it? The defendant stated that he does not mind and will talk about them in more detail after the lawyer.
Andranik Manukyan continued saying that he does not intensify the colors and does not want to create an additional emotional atmosphere, but they receive information for such cases. “For example, the famous singer (Ara Martirosyan-ed.) who sang for 2 hours the previous day and performed for 2 hours dies in one day due to heart disease. I record the fact.”
Hovsep Sargsyan, the other defense attorney of Arusyak Aleksanyan, noted that house arrest is able to ensure the defendant’s proper behavior during the trial. He also proposed to apply other combined measures of restraint, for example, mortgage of real estate. “The real estate is assessed, there is property there. The defense side takes into account Arusyak Aleksanyan’s health condition. You can see for, it is very complicated. Detention should not become a punishment.”
Later during the session, Sargsyan explained: the cost of the real estate which belongs to Arusyak Aleksanyan’s mother is about 54 million drams.
After that Arusyak Aleksanyan spoke in court. She stated that she does not want to make her health a flag, but the court should know what is happening with her health. The defendant stated that shehe is very careful about her health; she undergoes examinations from time to time, because there was a “bitter experience” in her family. “The last deteriorations happened within 4-5 months, until then I was constantly checked. “For about 3 months, I applied to the relevant SNCO of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice. And only after 3 months, I was allowed to undergo inpatient treatment at the “Astghik” Medical Center, but the treatment remained incomplete.”
Aleksanyan reported that she had heart rhythm disorder, sinus tachycardia, as well as shortness of breath (dyspnea). She said that after the session on 23 November, her health condition worsened in the car transporting her to the prison, she fainted. “Before the arrival of the “Ambulance”, I was treated by the attendants and the employees of the car service on the Tbilisi highway.”
According to the defendant, she was also diagnosed with arterial hypertension and diabetes. “There are also other women’s problems recorded here, which I do not want to talk about, but I will give you the epicrisis. If I were 65 or 70 years old, maybe the cluster of diseases I pointed out would be normal, but I am only 34 years old. I was arrested at the age of 33, I have been detained for 1 year and 2 months, but so many diseases are not normal for a 34-year-old woman.”
She also mentioned that her adrenal gland is not functioning at all or that there is a tumor on it. The detained judge also stated that her mother also has serious health problems. “Okay, we understand. I am not an enemy of this state, honorable court. If I do not have brains and decide to hinder someone, let me say that there should be room for the human mind. If one wants to obstruct, he/she will obstruct. I want to understand, what difference does it make for the court, if I am sitting in the penitentiary or at home? It does not matter; my right to communicate is open.”
She also asked to apply the measure of restraint “house arrest” against her, and if that is not enough, also bail. Arusiak Aleksanyan mentioned that she applied for research at her own expense back in September. The process was delayed, various reasons were given. Then she was transferred to “Astghik” Medical Center, where she underwent cardiac examinations. According to her, during that time, the employees of the Penitentiary Medicine Center exerted pressure. “They said, dear Arusyak, you know. The National Security Service is investigating your case; they may think that we are helping you. Come on, leave the hospital. After being discharged, I wrote an application to resolve the issues related to my endocrine system, but I have not received any answer to this day.”
Defendant Erik Aleksanyan joined the petition. He mentioned that no one can influence on him, especially Arusyak Aleksanyan. Judge Vahe Dolmazyan wondered under whose influence he was involved as defense attorney of Sergey Grigoryan. Aleksanyan mentioned: that no one’s.
Notably, Arusyak Aleksanyan is accused of making an obviously unjust court act and abusing official powers. She satisfied the petition of Erik Aleksanyan, the defense attorney of Sergey Grigoryan, who is known as “Faz”, by changing the measure of restrain and releasing him from custody for a bail of 2.5 million drams. According to the prosecution, Sergey Grigoryan is a friend of Arusyak Aleksanyan’s brother, Rustam Aleksanyan.
“Did you submit the restraining order against Sergey Grigoryan on your own initiative?” asked the judge.
Erik Aleksanyan answered yes, on his own initiative.
Public prosecutor Armen Gevorgyan announced in court that he studied the documents and he got the impression from the speeches of the defense side, that as a result of changing the measure of restraint Arusyak Aleksanyan will be able to receive medical care at any time from the doctor of her 
choice, but house arrest also implies a restriction of freedom.
“In addition, the person can be detained for as long as it is necessary to ensure the normal course of the proceedings. I find that the fact that Arusyak Aleksanyan has been in custody for 1 year and 2 months and has health problems are not sufficient factors to counterbalance the possibility of her inappropriate behavior. The term of detention is subject to extension,” the Prosecutor said.
The court decided to keep Judge Arusyak Aleksanyan detained for another 3 months, until 18 March, 2024.
Judge Vahe Dolmazyan also decided to appoint an expert to determine what diseases the detainee has, what their nature is and whether they correspond to the list of diseases mentioned in the Government’s decision, in which case the person cannot be in the detention center.
The session was adjourned.
Yеvgenya Hambardzumyan
