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Security expert and opposition With Honor faction MP Tigran Abrahamyan says the National Security Service has left unanswered his request for information about the fate of Lieutenant Colonel Hrant Papikyan, who was reportedly taken prisoner by Azerbaijani forces during last year’s war.

"During the large-scale military operations unleashed in Artsakh in September-November 2020, according to preliminary data, Lieutenant Colonel Hrant Papikyan, head of the Medical Service of the 18th Division (Hadrut), was captured on October 6,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

In Abrahamyan’s words, he sent a letter to the National Security Service (NSS) on 24 September to find out what steps had been taken to clarify Papikyan’s fate.

“Does Azerbaijan confirm the report of his capture? If not, does the NSS have other mechanisms for clarifying the fate of servicemen in similar cases and bringing them back?

“The legal deadline has passed, but the NSS has not responded [to the request] in any way. Does the public administration system exist or not? This is the fourth such case.

“What’s more, the current authorities seek to convince the people that they are able to represent our interests in the most complicated processes related to our country. You can't even reply to official requests, let alone handle the serious challenges facing our country,” he said.