ECHR admits complaint of David Tonoyan for examination
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has admitted for examination the complaint filed by the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, David Tonoyan, regarding the violation of his rights to liberty and security of person. The Court has officially communicated the case to the Government of Armenia, requesting its position. This was reported by Tonoyan’s legal defense team.
According to the lawyers, the application was admitted under the “well-established case-law” (WECL) procedure, which means that the issues raised relate to violations upon which the European Court has already established a settled legal precedent. At this stage, the examination pertains exclusively to alleged violations of the Convention and does not concern the issue of guilt or the final outcome of the trial.
The complaint concerns the lawfulness and the justification of the duration of detention, the reasoning of court decisions, as well as the adherence to the principles of legal certainty and the equality of arms.
The defense team emphasized that the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia has also accepted Tonoyan’s case for proceedings; however, no decision has been rendered for more than a year, and the judicial process in Armenia remains ongoing.
As a reminder, on September 30, 2021, the National Security Service (NSS) announced that Tonoyan and David Galstyan, a weapons supplier, were detained on suspicion of large-scale embezzlement. They were remanded in custody on the same day.
Charges in this case have also been brought against Artak Davtyan, former Chief of the General Staff; Stepan Galstyan, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff; Artyom Hambaryan, Head of the Aviation Technical Property Service of the RA MOD Aviation Department; and Vladimir Babayan, Chief Engineer of the Aviation Department.
Stepan Galstyan was released on 25 million AMD bail in December 2023, and David Tonoyan was released on 15 million AMD bail on August 15.
