ECtHR stands up for Samvel Mairapetyan

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has quickly responded to the complaint of the defence of Samvel Mairapetyan, the owner of the N2 TV Channel against the ban on his travel abroad. The ECtHR believes that the authorities should allow the businessman to go to Germany for medical treatment, said his advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mairapetyan was detained in Yerevan on October 7, 2018, after which he was arrested on charges of complicity in bribery. On December 27, the court released him on bail, but investigators forbade him to leave the country.

On January 17, 2019, the ECtHR, as a preliminary measure on the complaint of Mairapetyan's defence, urged the Armenian government "to immediately provide the needed medical care to Mairapetyan," Karen Batikyan, his advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Mr Batikyan, his client cannot be properly treated in Armenia; therefore, the ECtHR called on the Armenian authorities to let him go to Germany, where he had already received his treatment. "The ECtHR's decision also stresses that a failure to fulfil it will violate the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR)," the advocate has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 18, 2019 at 05:17 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.