Will There Be an Interstate Scandal If Davit Tonoyan Starts Speaking? Defense Attorney Responds to Reports

Yesterday, the president of the NGO "Civil Consciousness," Narek Samsonyan, wrote on his Facebook page that former Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan "threatens to speak about the loss of the war and national disgrace, and as a result, there will be an interstate scandal." In conversation with ArmDaily.am, Davit Tonoyan's lawyer Sergey Hovhannisyan responded to this statement, suggesting that it would be better if Samsonyan revealed where he got this information.

"If he knows such a thing, he should apply to the relevant authorities, and they should take action in that direction," said the attorney. Samsonyan had mentioned a conversation from August 2020 between Tonoyan and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, during which Shoigu allegedly stated that a Turkish-Azerbaijani attack was being prepared against Armenia, and that Russian intervention would simply not happen in that case.

The lawyer noted that this was the first time he was hearing about it. "I will get acquainted with the publication, but I do not think it presents anything serious on his part," the lawyer added.

Regarding the defense team's recent statement that Davit Tonoyan possesses a large volume of information, Hovhannisyan mentioned that he does not intend to comment on that statement at this moment. "At the same time, this statement is subject to various interpretations, including the most extreme ones. Whatever comes to the minds of people, they write, and that is accepted as a fact. Let’s wait, in time everything will become clear, and it will be confirmed what Mr. Tonoyan meant. Commentators will get their answers in due time. The essence of the statement was why Mr. Tonoyan does not wish to provide testimony at this time," the attorney stated, adding that there is no need for further comments at this moment.

He also informed that tomorrow at 14:00, there will be a hearing at the Court of Appeals regarding the appeal against the detention. No investigative actions have taken place with the participation of Davit Tonoyan, and his health condition is very good.