Why Allen Simonyan Is Not Meeting the Parents of Prisoners and the Missing: Spokesperson Says They Need to Register First

The relatives of captured, fallen, and missing servicemen have been holding a protest for the second day following the release of a video featuring the President of the National Assembly, Allen Simonyan. Today, they gathered near the entrance of the National Assembly.

A reporter from 'Pakinform' who was on-site contacted Allen Simonyan's spokesperson, Tsovinar Vardanyan, who stated that the National Assembly President was unable to meet with the parents due to meetings. She suggested that the parents should contact Simonyan's office to arrange a meeting.

Some parents decided to follow her suggestion and headed toward the office to arrange a meeting. After securing an appointment, the relatives will inform about the details.

It is noted that a secretly filmed video of Allen Simonyan has surfaced online, in which he claims that the parents of prisoners know their sons have deserted and that, for him, there are no prisoners. Later, Simonyan commented that the video was edited and his words were presented out of context. Nevertheless, he reiterated that all servicemen who laid down their weapons and surrendered would face criminal prosecution.

Following the circulation of this video, the parents and relatives of the missing and prisoners staged a protest in front of the government building. They demanded that the National Assembly President come and answer for calling the prisoners deserters, but no meeting took place, and the relatives blocked the roads leading to Republic Square for several hours.

Simultaneously, the relatives of captured servicemen from the Shirak region were also protesting in front of the Shirak regional administration office. They blocked the streets in front of the regional administration and demanded an immediate meeting with Shirak Governor Nazeli Baghdasaryan. The protesters stated that they were not going to leave until they met the governor.