National Security Service of Armenia

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Former Armenian Security Service head found dead in apparent suicide

•4 min read

The former head of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), Georgi Kutoyan, 38, has been found dead in his flat in Yerevan in an apparent suicide. Naira Harutyunyan, spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Armenia, announced the news on Friday in a post on Facebook. Later that evening, Artur Melikyan, the head of the Committee’s Department of Particularly Important Cases, told reporters near Kutoyan’s flat that a criminal investigation had been launched into the possibility tha

Armenia

Former Armenian Security chief accused of conducting ‘smear campaign’ against PM’s family

by OC Media

•5 min read

The former head of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) Artur Vanetsyan has come under fire over allegations he coordinated a smear campaign against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s family. The allegations were published on Sunday on the website of the Armenian Times. Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, serves as the paper’s editor-in-chief. The paper claimed to have obtained evidence that Vanetsyan worked with several media outlets, including Politik, widely considered to be hostile t

Armenia

Police surveillance bill passes first hearing in Armenia

by OC Media

•3 min read

A draft law that would give Armenian police the right to monitor people’s phone conversations, so long as they receive approval from a court, has passed its first hearing in parliament. The draft bill, passed by parliament on 10 December, must still go through a final second hearing. Armenia’s police have always had the right to tap phone calls, but only if they received court approval and the go-ahead from the National Security Service (NSS). Under the new law, the police would no longe

Armenia

Armenian security service questions family of constitutional court chair

by OC Media

•5 min read

The father and two daughters of embattled constitutional court chair Hrayr Tovmasyan, who was recently accused of ‘seizing state power’, have been questioned by Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS). The NSS called the three in for questioning on 18 October, according to them to answer questions that emerged from a preliminary investigation into Tovmasyan. The family’s lawyers were not fully informed about the reason for the questions or what kind of case the NSS had launched prior

Armenia

Mutual recriminations follow resignation of Armenia’s security chief

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•3 min read

Accusations of incompetence and corruption have been exchanged between Armenia’s Prime Minister and the former head of the National Security Service, following the latter’s resignation in mid-September. Artur Vanetsyan, the Head of the Armenian National Security Service (NSS), who served in the post for roughly a year and three months and was a key figure in Nikol Pashinyan’s anti-corruption drive, resigned on 16 September. That same day, he also published a resignation statement on Face