Samvel Karapetyan diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia despite penitentiary claim of no health issues: Lawyer

From June 18, 2025, to the present, there has been only one judge who acknowledged that the Criminal Procedure Code provides for preventive measures other than detention, said Aram Vardevanyan, a member of the defense team of Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the “Our Way” popular movement, during a meeting with journalists. However, he noted that this cannot be considered a major success.

“We have no grounds to speak of success in the Samvel Karapetyan case, because there is no case at all,” Vardevanyan stated.

He reported that while under house arrest, Karapetyan visited a medical facility and underwent a comprehensive medical examination – his first in approximately seven months.

“It was discovered that he had bilateral pneumonia in the post-acute stage. The condition was diagnosed based on indicators dating back two months – that is, from the period when he was in the penitentiary. This means a person with bilateral pneumonia was in custody, and it was neither diagnosed nor recorded. Can you imagine such conditions? And Samvel Karapetyan did not file any complaints,” the lawyer explained.

He added that the penitentiary institution had officially reported in writing that no health problems had been found in Karapetyan.

“How can these people be called doctors?” Vardevanyan said.