Epress.am News from Armenia
Architect Harut Karapetyan received a phone call from Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) on December 8, inviting him for a “friendly chat.” Karapetyan refused the invite, insisting that he would only go if he is sent an appropriate summons from the agency. The caller tried to press Karapetyan, and after receiving a second rejection, he resorted to threats, the architect said in conversation with Lragir.am.
“He says ‘come for a friendly chat,’ I ask him how a NSS officer and an ordinary citizen can have a friendly conversation. I told him to send me a summons with the exact status of the invite. He went on again about how they merely wanted to talk to me in a human, friendly manner. Well, NSS is not a place for those kind of conversations. Then he told me to at least meet him at our village office.”
Having gotten a rejection, the caller asked Karapetyan about his profession; “I told him I was an architect and he replied, ‘well, good! Come, we’ll talk about architecture.’ It is just ridiculous; does NSS seriously want to talk to me about art? When he saw he was getting nowhere, he changed the tone, ‘hey, I guess you do not realize who is calling you. I’m saying the NSS wants to talk to you, while you are fooling around,’” Karapetyan told Lragir.am.
Note, musician Vahan Artsruni was also summoned to the NSS on Tuesday “for a talk,” during which he was questioned about his alleged links with members of the anti-government Founding Parliament movement and his involvement in the July protest actions in support of the Sasna Tsrer armed group.