Famous doctor Armen Charchyan barred from leaving Armenia

A National Security Service (NSS) border officer did not allow prominent doctor Armen Charchyan to exit Armenia at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport on Tuesday morning.

The professor was travelling to Madrid to attend the Armenian Medical World Congress, where he was expected to deliver a speech.

According to his attorney, Erik Aleksanyan, authorities cited an alleged travel ban, even though the court had long since lifted the restriction on Charchyan’s freedom of movement.

Aleksanyan stated that the court’s decision to remove the travel ban was sent to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Interior Ministry a few weeks ago. Furthermore, on June 23, police officials confirmed that the restriction had been removed from the border control system.

"This is nothing short of legal nihilism," the lawyer wrote on Facebook, demanding a written explanation from the Interior Ministry regarding the incident.