Vahan Shirkhanyan is 'not in good health,' his lawyers say
Lawyers of Vahan Shirkhanyan, a former deputy defense minister of Armenia, are going to submit two petitions to the investigative body. “Our client has undergone surgery at the V. Avagyan Medical Centre to treat varicose veins in one leg. He has a blood clot in his other leg and is unable to walk and move. His health condition may deteriorate all of a sudden, and there is a threat to his life,” lawyer Stepan Voskanyan told A1+. Tigran Ter-Yesayan visited Shirkhanyan in prison and says he was not in good shape. “He needs to continue treatment at a specialized medical centre as he was being treated at the Avagyan medical centre [before the arrest] we are going to request that Shirkhanyan be taken there again. The second motion concerns his restraint, we shall file a petition for its review, considering Shirkhanyan’s health,” Mr Voskanyan said. Vahan Shirkhan was arrested on December 19, 2015, on suspicion of aiding and cooperating with a criminal gang led by Artur Vardanyan. On November 25, 2015, law enforcement raided a house in Yerevan and arrested nine individuals, including Artur Vardanyan. The National Security Service (NSS) announced the gang was planning to carry out a series of serious crimes in Armenia.
