Gagik Khachatryan has not been deprived of the right to health care

The media issued a press release stating that "Gagik Khachatryan has been deprived of his constitutional right to health care.”

The Ministry of Justice deems it necessary to give clarification on the information provided in the statement again in order not to distort the objective reality.

In a press release issued yesterday, the Ministry of Justice noted that detainee Gagik Khachatryan has been discharged from “Astghik” Medical Centre upon the decision of the Centre. The photocopy of the original document on discharge was attached to the report on crime and submitted to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia.

The group of attorneys should take note of the following:

(1)    Discharge of a patient who is located at a civil medical institution cannot be carried out upon the decision of the director of another institution, in this case, the director of the "Penitentiary Medicine Centre" SNCO. Discharge is carried out upon the decision of the medical centre where the patient is located. In the epicrisis for discharge, “Astghik” Medical Centre also noted that the discharge was carried out by taking into account letter No E-863 of the director of the SNCO regarding adequate treatment, as well as the results of the case conference. In these conditions, it is at least unclear what lawfulness of the process of discharge the group of attorneys is arguing about.

The SNCO has expressed its willingness to guarantee the constitutional right of detainee Gagik Khachatryan to health care at penitentiary institutions; therefore, we recommend that the group of attorneys to study the discharge epicrisis more thoroughly, focus on their duties and guarantee the right to protection of the detainee Gagik Khachatryan instead of disseminating information that does not correspond to reality (We remind that the director of the SNCO, in a letter forwarded to “Astghik” Medical Centre, drew the attention of the medical centre to the fact that it is ready to provide medical care and services to detainee Gagik Khachatryan, including provision of treatment via an invited specialist, taking into account the fact that detainee Gagik Khachatryan does not actually receive inpatient treatment at “Astghik” Medical Centre).

(2)    The fact of recovery is not mandatory for discharge of a patient at a civil medical institution.

We reaffirm the position of the Ministry of Justice that the Ministry guarantees the right of every person deprived of liberty, including detainee Gagik Khachatryan to health care.