Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan commented on The Insider publication concerning an alleged reference to the FSB in his passport records while speaking to journalists outside the courthouse.
“Let me tell you a secret — the FSB employee is Corporal Pashinyan, and soon he will become a sergeant. Don’t take those reports seriously… That publication is the work of Nikol Pashinyan. Don’t take it seriously. I did not receive a passport in 1999, I received one in 1993-94, so I have nothing to comment on,” he said, according to Panorama.am .
Karapetyan also addressed accusations and threats made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against him, Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan and other opposition figures.
“Let our people draw conclusions. A madman is running around in the streets. Let them understand on June 7 whom they are voting for,” he said.
Commenting on the arrests and detentions of “Strong Armenia” associates, Karapetyan said the authorities have no other options.
“Don’t take that seriously either. Our people will have their say. They have no other opportunity left except running through the streets, shouting, screaming and groundlessly arresting people. What else can we say? They fabricate cases against people and arrest them. They are masochists,” he stated.
Karapetyan also stressed that recordings exist but, according to him, there is no evidence.
“People are imprisoned groundlessly. In the end you will see what happened to those recordings, just be patient. We do not distribute bribes to anyone. The only people distributing bribes are the authorities, and not from their own pockets but from the state budget,” Karapetyan said.
According to Russian outlet The Insider, Karapetyan’s passport records listed the “FSB information center” as his workplace.
“In 1999, when Karapetyan was obtaining a foreign passport in Kaluga, leaked offline databases showed that the ‘place of work’ field in his passport file contained an Interior Ministry note indicating the FSB information center,” the publication said.
