Your trusted source

Dozens of parents and other relatives of Armenian soldiers killed in the 2020 Artsakh war on Wednesday again staged a protest outside the Prosecutor General's Office in Yerevan.

They demand criminal charges against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, holding him responsible for the deaths of thousands of Armenian soldiers.

They submitted a “crime report” to the Prosecutor General's Office on April 18. The latter instructed the Investigative Committee to probe the case and decide whether or not to prosecute Pashinyan, but the law enforcement agency has still not summoned the premier for questioning.

The protesting relatives, who accuse Investigative Committee Chairman Argishti Kyaramyan of disrespecting them and failing to deliver on his promise to question Pashinyan, insisted that the case be assigned to the National Security Service (NSS).

Fallen soldier Edgar Zakaryan’s father, Sevak Zakaryan, says they do not trust the Investigative Committee chief, stressing no progress has been made in the criminal probe for more than a month.

“We want the case to be assigned to the NSS. After all, the agency is intended to serve the country, so let it identify the traitors,” he told reporters.

Another protesting relative accused Pashinyan of delaying the probe into the case.

“He must be questioned by the NSS and be held to account along with the other culprits,” the man said.

The father of fallen soldier Mkhitar Galeyan, Garik Galeyan, pointed to a climate of impunity in the legal system.

“We will fight to the end. If we don’t succeed, we will draw up a criminal procedure code and start punishing [the culprits]," Galeyan said.

Eventually, the protesters did not receive a response to their demand as no meeting was held with the chief prosecutor.