Batoyan Raised Alarm About Begging 10-Year-Old; It Turns Out He Is 21 Years Old

The Police of the Republic of Armenia has followed up on the alert raised by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan regarding a possible trafficking case involving a 9-10-year-old boy.

It has been revealed that the individual in question is not a 9-10 year old child but a 21-year-old young man selling tissues on the streets.

On October 19, Batoyan posted on her Facebook page that during the night she had seen a 9-10-year-old child on one of Yerevan's central streets, who approached cars and, apparently, asked for money. She also stated that she had called the police.

“At this hour of the night, a minor is likely being trafficked. Naturally, I called the police. Law enforcement agencies must be vigilant regarding this phenomenon. I also urge citizens to immediately report such cases to the police by calling 1-02. No one, including parents, has the right to exploit children,” the minister's post read.

The Police of the Republic of Armenia’s press service informed “Haykakan Zhamanak” that they received a report about a child begging at the Vagharchyan-Komitas intersection. The police went to the scene based on the alert. It turned out that the person was not a minor, but a young man born in 1998, who is engaged in buying and selling tissues.

According to our information, the young tissue seller is married and has one minor child. Most likely, the minister mistook the young man's slightly smaller stature and frail appearance in the dark for that of a child.