‘They heard we were going to block the road, suddenly decided to call my father to the governor’s office’: Brother of Missing Soldier

“Why have we blocked the road? The military commissariat staff should be here, not the police.” This was stated today, on October 12, during a protest action on the road leading to the village of Lusaghu in the Armavir region by the brother of missing conscript Vahe Torosyan.

“They heard that we were going to block the road today, and they called my father to the governor's office. Now the question is why they called him today. Where have they been until now? They haven’t been here in this past month. I am not interested in them; I am interested in my brother. How long should we wait?” he said.

Vahe Torosyan’s grandfather added, “It has been a month already, and we have no answers. They are doing nothing. They know exactly where our child is with specific coordinates, so why aren’t they going to bring him back? We have scouts; we have an army—where are they?” He remarked, “It would be best if no one went to serve.”

Relatives of the missing soldier announced that they would keep the road blocked until nightfall. “Until this issue is resolved, we will not be opening the road.”

Earlier, it was reported that the relatives of conscript Vahe Torosyan, who has been missing since September 14, blocked the road leading to the village of Lusaghu in Armavir. On October 10, they had held a protest action near the Ministry of Defense building. They state that Vahe Torosyan last made contact on September 14, providing clear details about his location, but Armenian authorities are doing nothing to extricate him from there, claiming the area is under Azerbaijani control.

“Since September 16, the Azerbaijani side has not allowed anyone to enter the territory they control, specifically the upper part of the village of Hand in Syunik. The child called on September 15 and explained to his friend where he was. But our side is not taking any steps. Only the command staff of the military unit is working. Our people want to enter the area, but Azerbaijan does not allow it,” said one of the relatives.