Artsakh Minister Talks About Criminal Case Against Vitaly Balasanyan

Artsakh's State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan addressed the criminal case against former Security Council Secretary and General Vitaly Balasanyan in an interview with Channel 1.

“When there is an alleged crime and law enforcement agencies are conducting an investigation related to it, it is not entirely correct to condition that by the situation or the time,” said the former Chief Prosecutor of Artsakh, responding to the question of whether it was the right time for the criminal case to be instituted against Balasanyan and for his arrest.

“As for the rest, I believe that law enforcement agencies will provide their commentary and publish information while considering the confidentiality of the pre-investigation. I think that later it will be possible to provide assessments or observations regarding them more objectively,” noted the State Minister of Artsakh.

Vitaly Balasanyan was arrested on July 14. On July 17, the first instance court of general jurisdiction in Artsakh rejected the request to detain Balasanyan, and he was released. He has been charged with theft of property, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, committing violence against a representative of power that does not pose a danger to life or health, and possession of narcotic substances.