Attempted to Create the Impression They Would Commit Suicide: Vanetsyan on the Bagratashen Incident

In the National Assembly, a meeting of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security, and Internal Affairs is underway, attended by the Director of the National Security Service of Armenia, Arthur Vanetsyan. Journalists conversed with Vanetsyan in the corridors of the National Assembly, inquiring about the details of the incident that occurred at the Bagratashen checkpoint.

“The event in Bagratashen was conducted in accordance with the law, and there were no violations by NSS employees. On the contrary, the citizens attempted provocations, trying to create the impression that they would self-harm or commit suicide,” Vanetsyan stated.

He reminded that according to the relevant Armenian law, every citizen is allowed to bring 25 kg of goods into the territory of Armenia without customs clearance.

“Our citizens, who regularly travel to Turkey for commercial purposes and bring goods back, do not want to pay the corresponding customs fees. The incident that occurred involved more than 20 tons of goods that were brought in, and they did not wish to pay. According to our information, agreements had been reached with certain customs officers to allow these goods to be imported into Armenia without clearance. The NSS employees carried out the relevant operations, documented the process, halted it, and took appropriate measures,” Vanetsyan added.