Sunday, November 9, 2008

Hatspanyan Arrested!!!???


Both Lragir and A1plus and RFE/RL are reporting in their Armenian language sections that Sarkis Hatspanyan has been arrested.
It was also in Armenian on Azatutyun Radio (via RFE/RL), and there were more details there. They report that around 9 o'clock on Nov 7 he was invited to the National Security Service for questioning, after which he was arrested for suspicion of «Սուտ մատնություն», which literally translated means false fingerpointing, but in legalese is probably closer to making false allegations. His lawyer reports that he is being held in isolation. His lawyer also says that Hatspanyan told him that he is being treated with great politeness.
What does this mean about the validity of Hatspanyan's statements, and his arrest. There are tons of possible explanations. The most interesting question is who ordered the arrest - was it SS, or RK? Who has true control? - which has been the question all along.
In his interview, Hatspanyan absolved SS of guilt around the events of March 1, and to some extent gave the impression that SS was forced into a difficult situation, and that the violence was all RK's doing. So why would SS then imprison this man? For more information? For his "own safety"?
On the other hand, maybe the absolution in the interview doesn't mean much of anything to SS, and this is an excellent opportunity to arrest a strong, outspoken critic of the government.
Or could RK be running this arrest show, and Hatspanyan was blowing the whistle?
Regardless, it would have to be with SS's knowledge.

There's obviously much more going on than the few tidbits that have been thrown to us - hopefully there will be more information soon.

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