Application for urgent measures filed with ECHR: lawyers

The defense team for Gagik Khachatryan has filed an urgent request with the European Court of Human Rights for the application of interim measures, a group of lawyers reported.

In their appeal, they asked the ECHR to order the Armenian government to immediately release Khachatryan, to end the practice of his constant transport on a stretcher, and to lift the travel ban imposed as a pretrial measure so that he could receive necessary treatment abroad. He has been under arrest since September 2 and, despite being unable to move on his own, is being held at the Yerevan-Kentron Penitentiary Institution. A request for a doctor’s visit has so far gone unanswered.

The proceedings at the ECHR began back in 2019 under Article 3 of the European Convention, the absolute prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. In 2020, the Court applied interim measures, ordering the Armenian government to provide Khachatryan with medical care in detention or, if that were not possible, to transfer him to a civilian hospital. In 2024, a new complaint was filed under Article 2 of the Convention, the right to life, and the ECHR soon began reviewing that case as well. Both complaints are currently being considered together.

As a reminder, Gagik Khachatryan, former Minister of Finance and former head of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, has been a defendant in a number of criminal cases since 2019, including a case involving receipt of an especially large bribe.