Meeting Involving David Tonoyan to Be Held in Closed Format

The sitting of the parliamentary inquiry commission investigating the circumstances of the 44-day war, with the participation of former Minister of Defense David Tonoyan, will be conducted in a closed format without live broadcasting. This was reported by the newspaper 'Hraparak'.

It was previously revealed that the court had allowed Tonoyan to attend the commission's session. He will be accompanied by employees of the penitentiary institution. The meetings are scheduled for August 1 and 2.

It is worth noting that months ago, the former minister announced that he would agree to participate in the commission's session and answer questions if it were held in an open format and in the presence of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. 'Maybe he has changed his mind after Pashinyan's participation? Some do not rule out that he is trying to mitigate the authorities' attitude towards him and avoid confrontation with Pashinyan,' the newspaper writes.

The commission has already heard responses from several individuals, including Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Edward Asryan, former Chief of Staff Onik Gasparyan, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. On June 20 and 27, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also answered questions before the commission.

Recall that on September 30, 2021, the National Security Service announced that David Tonoyan and David Galstyan, who is involved in arms supply, were arrested on suspicion of particularly large-scale theft. On the same day, Tonoyan and Galstyan were detained. On June 28, the Anti-Corruption Court decided to release David Galstyan on a bail of 40 million drams.

This case also charges former Chief of Staff Artak Davtyan, former Deputy Chief of Staff Stepan Galstyan, head of the Aviation Department of the Ministry of Defense's aviation technical property service Artur Hambardzumyan, and Chief Engineer of the Aviation Department Vladimir Babayan.