Jazzman Levon Malkhasyan calls for Russian-Armenian businessman’s release
Famous Armenian Jazzman Levon Malkhasyan has expressed concerns over the health condition of Armenian businessman and philanthropist Levon Hayrapetyan who was arrested in Moscow earlier in July. Malkhasyan has called on Russian authorities to change the terms of Hayrapetyan’s detention, taking into consideration his health condition, writes Artsakh Today. “Levon Hayrapetyan’s health condition is extremely serious. I last talked to him several days before the detention. He had high blood pressure and could hardly talk to me,” Malkhasyan told Artsakh Today. The jazzman calls on Russia to change the detention to house arrest or release on recognizance not to leave. “The silence of Russian law enforcement agencies can have devastating consequences,” he added. Levon Hayrapetyan, the native Artsakh businessman, was arrested in Moscow on July 15. Last week he was officially charged with embezzlement and illegal money laundering by a Russian investigative body. Hayrapetyan, 65, has pleaded not guilty. A Russian court has issued a three month pre-trial detention order for Hayrapetyan and has placed a freeze on his shares in Bashneft, a Russian oil company, that are worth some $8.5 million.
