Naturally, I was worried: Ruben Rubinyan's Interrogation at the Investigative Committee

According to information from the "Zhoghovurd" daily newspaper, Vice President of the National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan has been summoned for interrogation at the RA Investigative Committee.

The reason for the interrogation was a message sent to Rubinyan via Facebook by a user named "Ruben Kasyan," informing him that the office of the ruling party (CP) had been bombed.

As is known, the RA Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case regarding the explosions at the homes and offices of CP members, with three individuals currently in custody who do not accept the charges brought against them.

Thus, the interrogation of Vice President Ruben Rubinyan has come to light. The investigator's question was: What information can you provide that could be of significant importance for this criminal case?

Rubinyan responded: "I received a message from a likely fake user named 'Ruben Kasyan' through the Messenger application of Facebook, sent on February 21, 2024, at 16:06. The content of the message was that the user, using insults, informed me that our office had been blown up. I do not remember whether I read this message before or after learning about the news regarding an explosive device being installed at Gagik Arsenyan’s office. The day I learned from the media that a bomb had been placed near the CP office, I also heard from Alen Simonyan that Romanos Petrosyan had received a report about the explosion, and then I recalled the message I had received. I contacted Romanos Petrosyan, who confirmed this fact, and I asked him to also report the message I received to law enforcement authorities, for which I sent him a screenshot of the message. I would like to note that apart from the mentioned message, I have had no communication of any kind with the user 'Ruben Kasyan' and am unaware of who the actual user of that page is.

Question: According to the content of the document you provided, you and the user 'Ruben Kasyan' share one mutual friend, who is the user 'Hamlet Mkrtchyan.' What can you tell us about the user 'Hamlet Mkrtchyan'? Response: I cannot provide any information. I do not know or remember him. Currently, I checked my page and saw that I now have another mutual friend with 'Ruben Kasyan,' who is the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Armenia. I would like to note that the user 'Ruben Kasyan' also sent me a friend request on Facebook, but I did not accept it. I cannot say for sure when the friend request was sent; I learned about it after reading his message.

Question: During the preliminary investigation, factual data were obtained indicating that the terrorist acts subject to this criminal case were carried out by Arsham Galstyan, Eduard Petrosyan, and Vahagn Hovhannisyan organized by Gagik Sargsyan. What can you say about this? Do you know the mentioned individuals or not? Response: I do not know any of the individuals mentioned in your question.

Question: In your opinion, what may have led to the fact that messages regarding terrorism were sent specifically to you and Romanos Petrosyan? Response: I do not know.

Question: After receiving the aforementioned message, did you feel any danger to your life, health, or property? Did it cause any feelings of anxiety or concern for you, or not? Response: At first, I did not feel anything because I did not connect the message with terrorism. However, later, on February 26, 2024, when I learned that a bomb had been placed near the CP office and spoke to Romanos Petrosyan, I was naturally worried. By the way, I have seen the mentioned message because I opened the 'spam' section of my Messenger; therefore, it is possible that other individuals have also received similar messages but have not seen them because they have not opened their 'spam' section.

Question: Have you ever received threats against your life, health, or property, or have any such actions ever been taken against you? Response: No actions have been taken, but I have received threats several times. I did not take them seriously or think they were real; I considered them insults due to my political activity. I cannot connect the threats I received regarding my person in the past with the message mentioned in my testimony. I have nothing to add to my testimony."