Minister of Internal Affairs on Individuals Moving in Convoys

Addressing the instances where representatives of the government make use of security services, Arpine Sargsyan stated, “Other members of the current government who have similar movement processes benefit from security provided by the Patrol Police. This is legal, legitimate and is allocated to specific official persons, considering particular legislative regulations.”

In this context, the minister mentioned, “Individuals benefitting from similar services or those in possession of legal weapons are within the visibility of the police.”

“If there are people who are moving in convoys in Armenia, there should also be an attitude towards this. This means that the issue is not the convoy itself, but if there is such an individual wandering around in a convoy in Armenia (mentioning all former and current officials by name), we must ask ourselves within the logic of coexistence why this person is moving in a convoy or why they are acquiring security services, or why there are even individuals with weapons in the vehicle,” she said, adding that this may also imply that the individual wishes to enhance their security environment.

The police may have operational data on various incidents, including the presence of weapons or drugs, and it is simply not feasible and objective to ignore that operational data. This was stated by Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan during a press conference summarizing 2024 while discussing incidents involving individuals traveling in convoys.