Ombudsman: Hrachia Harutyunian’s health is improving

Hrachia Harutyunian’s health is gradually improving, and he has come out of depression, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Karen Anfreasian said at a meeting with reporters today.

“When we spoke about his family, a smile flitted across his face for a moment. Harutyunian is kept in a cell along with five other men. The conditions are relatively good,” the ombudsman said.

According to K. Andreasian, after the car accident Hrachia Harutyuinian was in an extremely grave psychological condition so his evidence was inexpedient. ‘Now he is feeling better,” Andreasian noted.

On July 21 Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasian went to Moscow where he had a number of meetings with Hrachia Harutyunian’s lawyers and Chairman of the Union of Russian Armenians Ara Abrahamian.

We would remind you that 18 people died and about 30 were injured when a truck and a passenger bus collided in ‘new’ Moscow (near the city of Podolsk) on July 13. The Russian mass media reported that according to the truck’s driver, Armenian citizen Hrachia Harutyunian, the brakes of his truck failed, which resulted in the crash. The Russian court used two months’ arrest as a measure of restraint against Hrachia Harutyunian. The fact that he was brought to the court in a housecoat drew a wide response.