Publishing State Secrets is Treason Against the Nation, Says Arthur Vanetsyan

“It is simply absurd, such a thing does not exist and could never happen,” stated former NSS Director Arthur Vanetsyan in an interview with Aravot.am, responding to media reports that his mother was a shareholder in the mobile phone business of Sedrak Kocharyan, son of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan.

Addressing the rumors that he had a secret agreement with former head of the State Revenue Committee Gagik Khachatryan, suggesting that if Khachatryan compensated the damage caused to the state, he would be released, Vanetsyan replied: “That is also simply laughable, because Gagik Khachatryan is currently in prison and a criminal case has been initiated against him. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during a meeting with the media in the United States, announced the fight against corruption as the greatest achievement of the new Armenia and listed individuals against whom criminal cases have been initiated, who have returned money stolen from the state. Many of those mentioned are currently in detention and are in the process of judicial proceedings, all of these individuals were arrested and prosecuted while I was the NSS director.”

“All of the names he provided, and now claims there will be sensational revelations about… are based on criminal cases initiated during my term, the information was obtained as a result of operational intelligence measures. Criminal cases are not initiated, and charges are not filed in one day, let them take all the criminal cases and see who has done that,” he added.

Regarding his recent interview in which he stated, “Can you imagine if I start speaking without considering the consequences,” he clarified: “I want to make it clear, any individual who, during his service, whether military or civilian, has known state secrets, if that person ever publishes those secrets under any circumstances, then he should be declared a traitor to the nation: A publisher of state secrets is a traitor to the nation.”

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