Aram Arakelyan, a convict of the Armavir penitentiary institution, in addition to the punishment prescribed by the verdict, also bears the complete indifference of the officials. They don’t answer letters, they don’t listen to complaints, don’t provide medicines prescribed by doctors.
Last year, in February, Aram Arakelyan had an acute ischemic stroke. As a result of not receiving rehabilitative treatment, he has an internal aneurysm in the brain, is subject to prosthetics, but no intervention is made and the convict’s health condition is deteriorating day by day.
It seems that the state officials – the prosecutor, the judge, the employees of the Penitentiary Medical Center are doing everything to ensure that the convict never leaves the prison, where he has been living for 30 years.
In the RA government’s decision N 825-N adopted in 2006 and amended in 2019, “hemorrhagic brain blood circulation, ischemic or mixed acute disorders” are highlighted in the list of diseases incompatible with arrest.
But not only they do not want to release the disabled Aram Arakelyan, but they don’t even approve his application for parole. Court hearings on this issue have strictly formal nature. There is no justification for rejection. The desperate convict sent a letter to Forrights.am about this through his mother, Roza Arakelyan.
On December 15, the court was going to hear the issue of parole for Aram Arakelyan, but the hearing was unexpectedly moved to November 15.
“They came in the morning and told me to get ready, to go to the court.” The institution presented an ideal profile in the court, the probation officer also said that I was behaving properly, but, in the end, the court decided that there was a risk, it was still too early for my early release. They have no justification for this. The only basis is the prosecutor’s statement. The prosecutor got up, announced that until 2020, I had an increase in positive dynamics, but after 20 years, it has decreased. That’s it,” says Aram Arakelyan through his mother.
He gave a speech in court lasting about one and a half hours, all other speeches, according to Aram, lasted about 15 minutes.
“In my letter, I presented the circumstances in detail, with documents. I had all the examples. In the end, I referred to the prosecutor, saying that he is making an unfounded statement that the positive dynamics of my behavior have increased. I participate in all events, courses, I even organized a charity exhibition. But nothing affects them. The judge went to the conference room and returned after only 10 minutes, read the rejection decision. It was clear to me that it was decided in advance that nothing would be done: they were ready from the beginning that they should refuse,” says Aram Arakelyan.
Going to court is a real torture for him. After a stroke, he has severe headaches, serious health problems, which no one pays attention to.
Aram Arakelyan had a sudden seizure a few months ago. They took him for medical tests, heart and blood tests, but he achieved all this with a struggle and threat: he threatened to go on a hunger strike. “They took me for examination only under the threat of a hunger strike,” says Arakelyan.
The examinations were completed, but the medical conclusions have not yet been provided to Arakelyan.
“What right do they have not to show me the conclusions about my health?” Naira Babayan, an employee of the Penitentiary Medical Center, demanded an application from me; she said, “I can’t provide you with documents: write an application and I will give it based on the application.” On August 2, I handed over the application to her. Until today, they haven’t given me my medical documents,” reports Aram Arakelyan.
The drugs prescribed by the doctors after the stroke are also not provided to the convict regularly. For six months, he used his own means to buy medicines, but he has no more money. “Since the beginning of this year, I have demanded medicine from them, Xarelto. They provided me with medicines for half a year, but, since August, I have not received the prescribed medicines. A few days ago, I received 20 pills only.”
Aram Arakelyan sent a letter of complaint to the Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan, but neither he nor his mother, Roza Arakelyan, have received any letter from the Ministry.
“I am sure that my complaint did not reach the minister. In addition to the main disease, I have a stomach ulcer. I need a 40-milligram dose of Kvamatel, which they won’t give me. They give me a cheap substitute that doesn’t help me. I demand what the doctor prescribed. It is a drug included in the list of approved drugs in Armenia. I am a third-class disabled person; they should give me drugs for free, but they do not give them, or they delay them for months. They push me to extreme measures for me to die, ao that they can say there is no person, there is no problem,” says Aram Arakelyan.
We turned to the Ministry of Health, asking for an answer on the process of Aram Arakelyan’s appeal to the Minister, why the convict is not provided with the drugs or medical documents available to him. They answered us that “Penitentiary Medical Center” is a new structure in the system of the Ministry and there may be problems there. Aram Arakelyan receives his medication. Penitentiary Medical Center responded to Aram Arakelyan’s complaint,” the ministry replied, promising to provide more detailed information in the near future.
We will wait for the Ministry’s answer, but even these two sentences are in sharp contradiction to Aram Arakelyan’s claims. It is obvious that the Ministry does not want to find out the truth and tends to give formal answers. Otherwise, the convict’s application should have reached the minister, the facts mentioned in the application should have been investigated, verified, compared with the data of the penitentiary institution’s records, which would have made it clear what medication he received, what he signed for and who is really lying.
Syuzan Simonyan