VIDEO. It is not acceptable to go down that road. Simonian on Harutyunyan's death case

I think it is too early to draw any conclusions right now because there is an ongoing investigation, and there is a person who has been invited and needs to provide an explanation about what this is all about. This was stated today, on September 24, by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonian, in response to a question regarding the suicide of former police chief Hayk Harutyunyan.

"It is a very tragic case, but pressure from the government? We have not manifested ourselves as a government that can kill a person, beat someone, or drive someone to commit suicide, especially regarding law enforcement authorities. Different versions are circulating. I have also been familiarized with the opposite version—that he was killed so that he wouldn’t go and give testimony in the 'March 1' case. It is unacceptable to go down that road right now. We need to wait and see what will happen; we are talking about a person's life, and we need to be very careful. Let no one doubt that the truth of the matter will be known to everyone," he noted.

In response to a question about whether there is a need to ensure the safety of witnesses in the 'March 1' case, Alen Simonian replied, "I believe that, nonetheless, the court’s decision regarding Robert Kocharyan not being released and discussing changing the preventive measure is correct. This case will indeed attract a lot of attention; it concerns many high-ranking former officials and the families of Armenian citizens, and we need to be serious about this issue. Modern-day Armenia is a calm country, especially now, after the revolution when people are satisfied and have a sense of justice. I think this is a reflection of echoes from the past."

The video can be found on news.am.