A1+ denied a meeting with prisoners
On February 16, A1+ addressed a letter to the Ministry of Justice requesting to organize a meeting with prisoners who had started a hunger strike in Nubarashen penitentiary institution in January.
In its written response dated February 27, the Ministry said only one inmate - Rafael Aghamyan - is on a hunger strike at the penitentiary.
"The Ministry finds the meeting inappropriate at this point," G. Ghlechyan, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry's Penitentiary Department, said in the letter.
Remind that inmate Ashot Shahzadyan went on a hunger strike at Nubarashen penitentiary on January 11. Samvel Gyulumyan and Rafael Aghamyan joined the strike on January 27 and Yerem Aghamalyan on January 31. They demanded the prison authorities to revise their case in compliance with the amended Criminal Code and reduce their terms.
Shahzadyan's lawyer Anzhela Karapetyan told A1+ on Monday that her client had stopped the hunger protest because of poor health state.
"Shahzadyan had to stop the hunger strike to be able to attend the court sittings," the lawyer said adding that her client had appealed to the Court of Cassation.
