INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS OF ARMENIA / HETQ ONLINE

18-25 August 2004

Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire - 5: Bisharyan resigns

Hetq has reported that out of the entire supply of medicine that entered Armenia as humanitarian assistance in 2001-2002, one billion drams worth expired before it could be used.

In a recent development, the head of the Department of Medical and Technological Supply of the Ministry of Health, Artashes Bisharyan, who was in charge of the distribution of medicine sent to Armenia through humanitarian channels, handed in his resignation. Minister of Health Norair Davidyan accepted it, and Bisharyan was dismissed from office. Over the last year, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia, the Ministry of Finance and the President's Supervision Service have carried out inspections and investigations of the Department of Medical and Technological Supply, attempting to find out what led to the waste of such a large quantity of medicine.

We have been informed by the Office of the Prosecutor General that the criminal investigation into this case is not yet closed. As we wrote before, Artashes Bisharyan has not been questioned by investigators so far. He was called into the Prosecutor's Office once, but failed to appear.

Edik Baghdasaryan


See also:

Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire
http://www.hetq.am/eng/society/h-0304-medicine-1.html

Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire - 2
http://www.hetq.am/eng/society/h-0304-medicine-2.html

Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire - 3
http://www.hetq.am/eng/society/h-0304-medicine-3.html

Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire - 4
http://www.hetq.am/eng/society/h-0404-medicine.html

Expired humanitarian medicine: Even the president got involved
http://www.hetq.am/eng/society/0407-medicine.html