Georgian convict in heroin case released from Armenia prison (video) (video)
Support A1+!The trial of Georgian citizen Avtandil Martiashvili, who was convicted of smuggling about 1 ton of heroin from Iran to Armenia in January2014, ended at a Yerevan district court.
The court granted the Convicts’ Hospital administration’s petition to release Martiashvili from further serving of sentence on the grounds of having illnesses that are incompatible with his detention.
During the court hearing Martiashvili said he was in a very severe state of health at the moment, he was spending 18 hours sitting and was unable to walk and sleep. The convict added that he had no one in Armenia, and no one was visiting him in prison.
Martiashvili's attorney also joined the petition. She added that her client had shown proper conduct over the past six years, serving more than one third of his sentence. The lawyer urged the court to grant the petition taking into account the principle of humanity.
The prosecution stated that the prisoner's illness had a negative dynamics over the past year, and said therefore it leaves the decision to the discretion of the court.
In January 2014, a semi-trailer truck driven by Georgian citizen Avtandil Martiashvili had entered the Meghri customs point of Armenia for transit from Iran to Georgia. But after an X-ray examination, 927.6 kg of heroin was found in a secret compartment of the vehicle. Martiashvili was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while Turkish citizen Osman Ugurlu, director of the cargo forwarding company—to 19 years.
