Young Activist With Brain Cancer Remains in Jail Despite Poor Health After Anti-Government Protest Arrest

A young Armenian opposition activist, only 28 years old, is still in jail even though he is showing serious health problems. Two years ago, he survived brain cancer, but his condition has worsened since his arrest.

Aghvan Arshakyan was arrested in late June along with Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and 13 others. They face charges of planning a coup, but all of them deny these accusations. Another supporter of the archbishop, opposition lawmaker Artur Sargsyan, was also charged with the same accusations but denies them.

Arshakyan participated in large anti-government protests in Yerevan last year. He joined these protests while still receiving treatment for his cancer. His family and lawyer say that his health has gotten worse because he cannot get proper medical care in prison. They say he now has trouble moving and needs help from other prisoners to put on clothes and to bathe.

Arshakyan’s mother, Marieta Kspoyan, asked the Armenian authorities to let her son go or at least keep him under house arrest while they finish the investigation. 

She said, “Give me my son so I can take care of him. He can't run away anywhere.” 

She also said he was still getting better and needed medical tests, but they took him away and put him in jail. She doesn’t understand why they did that.

Recently, a court in Yerevan and Armenia’s Court of Appeals refused to release Arshakyan. His lawyer, Varazdat Harutiunian, had asked for his release. An opposition lawmaker, Garnik Danielyan, who was also part of the protests, said the courts are following orders from the government.

So far, only one person arrested in this case, Deacon Hrayr Hakobyan, has been released. A judge named Vazgen Rshtuni ordered his release on June 29. This judge faced criticism from supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. They accused him of supporting “terrorism” through social media posts. Opposition leaders said this was done to stop other judges from freeing more suspects.

The case against Arshakyan and the others is based on secret recordings of conversations between the archbishop and his supporters. The lawyers for the accused say these recordings are false or taken out of context.

The Prosecutor-General, Anna Vardapetyan, said last month that the archbishop and his group planned to kill the prime minister and other top officials. However, none of them have been charged with murder.

The story has caught people’s attention because Arshakyan is very young and is fighting a serious illness. Many are worried about his health while he is in jail.

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