The Ministry of Internal Affairs Claims There is No Special Regime in Kiran, Yet Fails to Clarify the Basis for Restrictions on the Movement of Specific Individuals

'Factinfo' reports: 'The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims that no special regime has been established in Kiran, yet they do not clarify under what legal grounds the movement rights of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, MP Garnik Danielyan, and other citizens are restricted in entering and exiting Kiran.

It is noted that for the second consecutive day, an illegal passport regime has been implemented in Kiran, and the police are restricting citizens' right to move freely. Police have also formed a barrier, preventing Archbishop Bagrat from entering Kiran without any legal justification. Additionally, police presence has been established on intercommunity roads, restricting residents of nearby villages from visiting Kiran.

According to the official reason from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, demining operations are being conducted along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and in the context of these operations, the police are implementing enhanced services to ensure citizens' safety, prohibiting civilian access to mined areas. However, it should be noted that police are prohibiting citizens from entering areas of the village where residents live, and there are confirmed no mined areas.

For comparison, it should be mentioned that, for instance, in Voskepar, demining operations were also conducted recently and indeed, the police maintained a strong presence there, preventing citizens from approaching mined areas, but there were no restrictions on entering Voskepar. Furthermore, citizens accompanied by the archbishop eventually made their way to the church in Voskepar, while in this case, all access to Kiran is prohibited, even though Archbishop Bagrat stated that they do not intend to approach any mined zones.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not provide any clarification on what basis citizens are being denied entry, suggesting that earlier statements be referenced, which we have already noted. The Ministry of Internal Affairs only stated that there is no special regime, while no explanation was given as to why such an approach is taken in the case of Kiran while no restrictions existed in Voskepar. This indicates that the police are exceeding their authority, which constitutes a crime.

We also attempted to contact the Ministry of Defense to clarify whether the demining operations in Kiran have concluded; if not, whether they are continuing today, but no clarifications have been provided up to this moment. In Voskepar and Berqaber, operations only lasted one day, and furthermore, the Ministry of Defense had previously warned about possible explosions while conducting demining in other villages, but there was no such warning in this case.

In other words, Kiran has been besieged by Armenian police to hand it over to the enemy without resistance, and the Prosecutor's Office continues to tolerate actions against the territorial integrity and national security of Armenia.'