The Head of the State Oversight Service Summoned by the Investigative Committee and Interrogated: "Zhoghovurd"

Romanos Petrosyan, a member of the Civil Contract party and head of the State Oversight Service, has been summoned by the National Security Service unit of the Investigative Committee and interrogated. He stated during his testimony that he experienced a feeling of alarm. This was reported by the newspaper "Zhoghovurd," referencing its sources.

It is noteworthy that a criminal case has been initiated regarding the placement of bombs in the areas belonging to the Civil Contract party’s office and its MPs Gurgen Arsenyan and Gagik Melkonyan since February 20. The case is currently in court. The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia found that on February 20, 2024, a citizen went to the office of the "Unified Labor Party" located at 33 Gulbenkian Street in Yerevan at 3:50 AM and placed around 1 kilogram of explosives, including TNT and pentaerythritol tetranitrate, under a tree on the sidewalk, which was suitable for causing destruction and harming lives.

At the same time, an improvised explosive device was also placed near the entrance of the Civil Contract party’s regional office at 30/3 Gulbenkian Street, posing a real threat of explosion and fire. However, the devices installed by V.H. did not explode due to a malfunction in the triggering mechanism.

It is essential to note that the suspects detained for placing explosives near the Civil Contract office and the office of the founder of the United Labor Party, Gurgen Arsenyan, deny the charges brought against them. However, prior to placing the bomb, they sent an SMS to the head of the State Oversight Service and member of the Civil Contract party, Romanos Petrosyan, with the message: "Haven’t you exploded yet, hey...." Petrosyan was subsequently summoned by the Investigative Committee’s main division for crimes against the state, constitutional order, and public security to testify regarding this message.

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" has obtained Romanos Petrosyan's testimony, which is already in court regarding this case. When asked what information he had about the bombing case, Petrosyan responded, “On the morning of February 21 of this year, around 8:00, I noticed that a false account with the name Ruben Kasyan sent a hateful message to my Facebook page. Later, around 10:30 that same day, the same false Facebook account posted another entry concerning the explosion. I took a screenshot of that post and saved it. On the evening of February 22, 2024, I learned from the news that an explosive device had been found near Gurgen Arsenyan’s office, at that moment, I remembered that post and informed the law enforcement agencies.”

Below are the questions and answers from the interrogation:
QUESTION: Can you provide a copy of the message?
ANSWER: Yes, I provide the copy of the message received from the false Facebook account.
QUESTION: Is the account registered in your name accessible to the general public, and if not, how did the person who sent the message manage to send it?
ANSWER: That account is accessible to everyone.
QUESTION: Investigative data indicate that the named individuals, organized by Gagik Garush, including Arsham Galstyan, Eduard Petrosyan, and Vahagn Hovhannisyan, committed these terrorist acts. Do you know them, and if so, how long have you known them, under what circumstances did you meet, and what is your relationship with them?
ANSWER: I absolutely do not recognize the mentioned individuals; I first heard about them from the news.
QUESTION: What do you think about the fact that the perpetrators sent messages of the above-mentioned content specifically to you, MP Gurgen Arsenyan, and Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan?
ANSWER: I cannot state anything particular regarding why those messages were sent to you and me; I assume that many representatives of our political team received similar messages but did not pay attention to them. I believe it is because of our political activities that I and my colleagues might have been targeted.

QUESTION: After receiving the aforementioned message, did you feel any threat to your life, health, or property? Did it cause you alarm or anxiety?
ANSWER: At that time, I felt a certain degree of alarm, but not only for myself, but for our entire political team. And after receiving the news concerning the explosive device, the feeling of alarm intensified, and I considered the threat of realization more realistic.
QUESTION: Do you know a person according to Garegin Lipariti Vanesyan?
ANSWER: I do not know such a person.
QUESTION: Have you previously received threats against your life, health, and property, or have such actions ever been taken against you?
ANSWER: I have received many threats; however, I have never received a threat that specifically referenced an explosion, nor have such actions been taken against me before,” the newspaper reports.