Vardevanian: Harutyunian could have been brought to court later

The Head of the Legal and Analytical Department of the Ombudsman Office Aram Vardevanian believes the fact that Hrachia Harutyunian was awakened from a drug-induced sleep and transported from the hospital to the court in a housecoat was a violation of human dignity.

Commenting on the attitude of the Russian side, he said during a talk with the correspondent of Aysor.am that in fact Harutyunian was not allowed to appear in court in a dignified manner.

Let us remind you that Hrachia Harutyunian is charged in the July 13 car crash in ‘new’ Moscow that left 18 people dead. He was sentenced to two month preliminary arrest. Gross human rights violations were committed when Harutyunian was brought to court.

“The state must take measures so that human dignity will not be violated. The fact that in case of H. Harutyunian, state investigatory bodies and officials committed such actions causes deep concern,” Vardevanian noted.

Asked if those who awakened Hrachia Harutyunian from a drug-induced coma and transported him to court in a housecoat had such a right, Vardevanian replied that the issue should be examined from a viewpoint of necessity and adequacy.

He clarified that in some cases it is necessary to take an investigative measure or to transport a person to court at 3:00 am.
“In case of Harutyunian, it is clear that he didn’t try to flee or avoid the preliminary investigation. He was lying motionless in hospital. As a lawyer, I think there was no need to awaken him from a coma and transport him to court in such a state,” Vardevanian said.

In his words, these actions were not urgent and could have been taken later.

Vardevanian said Armenia’s Ombudsman Office should act consistently, without limiting itself to the letter of Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasian to Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin.