Health Ministry ready to help Arsen Khojoyan freed from captivity

In case of need, Armenian Health Ministry is ready to pay the cost of treatment of 23-year-old Armenian citizen Arsen Khojoyan who was freed from Azerbaijani captivity on April 10, Health Minister Armen Muradyan said today during a briefing in the National Assembly.

“The patient cannot be hospitalized without his consent. We will promptly react if Arsen Khojoyan’s condition deteriorates,” the minister said.

In his words, A. Khojoyan is under the supervision of doctors as he is from a low-income family.

When asked if Arsen Khojoyan’s health deteriorated and if rumors that the young man was injected diesel fuel in Azerbaijani captivity are true, Armen Muradyan replied that examinations by medical experts are not among the ministry’s functions.

“A forensic medical examination can be done based on a request of law enforcement bodies if this man applies for such an examination,” the minister said.

Arsen Khojoyan, 23, a resident of Verin Karmiraghbyur village in Armenia’s Tavush province, crossed into Azerbaijani territory on March 7, 2014, after losing his way in a dense fog. He is a distant relative of 77-year-old Mamikon Khojoyan who was released from Azerbaijani captivity on March 4, 2014. The elderly man underwent torture in captivity. He died 8 weeks after his release, on May 20.