Simonyan on Gasparyan's Interview: It Was an Emergency Interview to Rectify the Previous Incident

The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan discussed the appointment of the Deputy Director of the NSS, Argishti Kyaramyan, who had just recently become the Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee, during a conversation with reporters. Journalists inquired if there is a shortage of personnel.

“The public can only have one question, which is when the corruptionists who are often citizens of Russia will finally stand before the court. This process will involve many different actions, and every country has always needed and will need professional people at every stage. Thus, it is not worth focusing on such things. We should have evaluated people based on their work long ago, rather than how they were appointed,” he remarked.

Referring to the previous police chief Vladimir Gasparyan's interview, in which he called for sobriety from the authorities, Simonyan stated, “I personally know Vladimir Gasparyan, and I can say that I have a very normal attitude towards him outside the political and legal realm. However, I believe that during the incident with the 'Freedom' journalist, he crossed the line and should have acted within the framework of the law. Regarding his statements, I think it was an emergency interview trying to rectify the incident that occurred the day before. That did not succeed, as we all know Mr. Gasparyan very well because of his long history.”

He disagrees with Gasparyan's remarks: “People get the impression that citizens of the Republic of Armenia quickly forget everything that has happened. I would very much like one of you to take an interview with him and ask about his employee Arshak. I have a good personal attitude towards him, but related to his activities... he often looks up and speaks about God, but he must understand that he will have to answer, not before the authorities.”