Deputy Minister of Defense Proposes Punishment for Disseminators of False Information Related to the Armed Forces and National Security

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Arman Sargsyan, has proposed strict penalties for those spreading false information related to the army and national security. He stated, "If people see that someone is criminally liable for spreading false and panic-inducing information (allegedly due to 'patriotic motives'), then they will stop doing it," during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defense and Security.

According to Sargsyan, chaos and panic are prevailing on the internet, which is unacceptable. He believes that citizens themselves should condemn those disseminating disinformation on this topic. "Things need to be called by their names: they are unpatriotic people," said the deputy minister.

Earlier, information circulated on social media and various news outlets claiming that around 500 peacekeepers and Azerbaijanis were conducting inspections along the border in several villages of the Tavush region for the past two days. Former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan wrote on his Facebook page, "Azerbaijani 'peacekeepers' are conducting inspections in the community of Azatamut in the Tavush region, near the former Barkhudarlik (a former exclave of the Azerbaijan SSR), and have already approached our compatriots and very 'politely' told them to take their barns and houses across the river." The regional authorities and the Ministry of Defense later categorically denied this information.