In the same case, the European Court also recorded a violation of rights against Artur Vardanyan and Khachik Avetisyan from the Nork armed group.
According to the complaint in the ECtHR, “The Court made a decision in case No. EKD0298/01/16 to consider the petition to replace the preventive detention with bail.” It already follows from the title that the court examined only the issue of permission to use bail, in the event that the defense party presented a petition, which consisted of two demands: 1. Change the measure of restraint chosen against Harutyun Saribekyan by means of another restraint that has nothing to do with detention. Or: 2. Recognize the possibility of applying bail to Harutyun Saribekyan as an alternative measure of arrest, determining the amount of the bail. In essence, the court did not discuss the first requirement of the petition at all, which is also proven by the arguments in the COURT’S LEGAL ANALYSIS section of the decision, which fully refer only to the grounds for applying bail provided for in Article 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, in the event that the defense party claimed in the petition that at the given moment of the trial, the conditions for keeping the defendant in custody and all the grounds on the basis of which the court last extended the period of keeping the defendant Harutyun Saribekyan in custody have disappeared, they have already disappeared when the preliminary investigation is completed and the case is scheduled for trial,” said lawyer (pictured).
The Armenian citizen who appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, Harutyun Knyaz Saribekyan, b. 1967, is married, and has three children. He had health problems, is a disabled person of the 2nd degree, a participant in the Artsakh war. He reported that all domestic legal remedies have been exhausted. Harutyun Saribekyan, whose defense was carried out by the lawyer Narine Rshtuni, recognized in criminal cases, after another lawyer, was arrested in 2015. on December 3. The next day, on December 4, in criminal case No. 58216515, H. Saribekyan was involved as an accused and on the same day he was charged with committing crimes under Article 223, Part 2 and Article 235, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, and detention was applied to him as a preventive measure. As Narine Rshtuni informed Aravot yesterday, the Court of General Jurisdiction of the Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan made a decision to examine the petition to extend the period of detention, according to which H. Saribekyan’s detention period was extended by 2 months. The reasoning of the court is as follows.
“Taking into account that there is a reasonable doubt regarding the execution of the acts attributed to the accused, which is confirmed by the documents available in the court regarding the petition, taking into account also that it is necessary to ensure the availability of sufficient time to carry out a number of investigative actions and at the same time the detention continues to exist, the grounds and conditions for choosing a preventive measure, the court considers that if the accused Harutyun Saribekyan is at liberty, the probability of hiding from the body conducting the proceedings remains high, therefore the petition of the investigator is well-founded and subject to satisfaction.” According to the case submitted by the ECHR, on November 24, 2016, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan city (judge: A. Bektashyan) made a decision to schedule the criminal case for judicial examination. The case is being investigated under the number EKD/0298/01/16.
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The motion of the defender was as follows: to change the detention applied as a preventive measure against his client Saribekyan by another detention, which has nothing to do with detention, or to recognize the possibility of applying bail to Harutyun Saribekyan as an alternative preventive measure of detention, determining the amount of the bail. Attached to the petition was the letter received from the Nubarashen prison of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia confirming the following, “H. Saribekyan is registered with the following diagnosis. HF, unstable angina III B1 (Braunwald).
Arterial hypertension II-0. Post-traumatic encephalopathy. Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Chronic catarrhal rhinitis. Old skull fragment injury (2 fragments in skull). H. Saribekyan repeatedly underwent consultations and examinations by a therapist, surgeon, cardiologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, LOR specialist, and received appropriate drug treatment. A permit was requested from the Department of Internal Affairs of the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs to transfer H. Saribekyan to the Hospital of Convicts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia in order to organize further inpatient examination and treatment. Later, during the investigation of the criminal case, in order to ensure the proper behavior of defendant H. Saribekyan, as a sufficient guarantee for the manifestation of that behavior, it was proposed to apply the cash bail. On June 22, 2018, the court made a decision to cancel Harutyun Saribekyan’s restraining order. Another restraining measure was chosen – a signature not to leave, the applicant was released from the courtroom.
Ruzan MINASYAN
“Aravot” daily, 01.07.2022
