Aram Gasparyan, Head of Security Department of ZPMC, Detained

On July 14, employees of the National Security Service (NSS) detained Aram Gasparyan, the head of the security department of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC). During his detention, Gasparyan told reporters that he did not know why he was being taken. He said, "What can I say, they are former colleagues from the NSS, maybe they miss me, they are taking me away."

Together with him, another employee of the combine was detained, who stated that he is also a member of the Kapan community council and he too does not know why they are being taken.

In this regard, the spokesperson for the "Reviving Armenia" party, Vazgen Sagatelyan, posted a photo of Aram Gasparyan on his Facebook page and wrote: "He is Colonel Aram Gasparyan from the ‘Alpha’ unit. A participant in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, who passed through the entire war receiving a gunshot wound to the neck area, and survived by a miracle. Despite health issues and several serious operations, he has been in Artsakh since the beginning of both the April and the recent wars. He has served in the National Security Service for 20 years and has been at the forefront of the creation of the Armenian ‘Alpha’ squad. He has been awarded the ‘Combat Service’ medal, multiple certificates of appreciation from the NSS and the police, and a jubilee medal from the NSS. After retiring, he works at ZCMC as the head of the security department. Today, the ‘Alpha’ unit is detaining him without any reason or explanation, effectively executing a political order. When asked by a journalist why he is being taken, he smiles and says he does not know, probably his former colleagues miss him."

Note: The second photo was taken shortly after his injury. The video is available in the comments.

Earlier, in an interview with NEWS.am, Vahe Hakobyan, a member of the ‘Hayastan’ alliance and president of the ‘Reviving Armenia’ party, mentioned that since the morning, the NSS ‘Alpha’ unit has been conducting searches in the administrative building of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine, also seizing computers. As for the criminal case in question, Vahe Hakobyan stated that he did not have any information.