Armenian prime minister describes Shaki incident as an ordinary criminal situation

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the incident in Shaki as an ordinary criminal situation.

The prime minister made the statement during a question-and-answer session with the government in the National Assembly, responding to a question from MP Arega Hovsepyan. The MP’s question addressed a Shaki resident’s actions to protect herself and her children, as well as the response of state authorities during the incident.

“It is an ordinary criminal situation. When you call the police, you should wait for the police to act. Had they waited for the police to arrive, essentially nothing would have happened,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said the strength of maternal instinct was understandable, but reiterated the need to wait for the police to act.

Recounting the incident, Pashinyan said the family had been away from home for several days. According to him, the children had returned, seen a stranger in the house and informed their mother. The mother had called the police but arrived at the scene before they did.

The prime minister also stressed that an investigation was ongoing and that the information available at that stage might be incomplete.

At around 14:00 on 1 October, Azerbaijani citizen and serviceman Nasimi Rahim Oghlu Musayev unlawfully entered a house in Shaki and opened fire after being discovered. An Armenian citizen born in 1987 was injured. Musayev fled, was later found at another address in the same settlement and was arrested at 15:30.

On 2 October, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had initiated public criminal prosecution against Musayev under five articles of the Criminal Code. These concern illegally crossing the state border, firearms smuggling and illegal circulation, violating the inviolability of a home, and causing serious harm to health.

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