YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s aide Nairi Sargsyan has approached the protesting employees of SPAYKA outside the government headquarters.

SPAYKA employees are demonstrating against the arrest of their director Davit Ghazaryan who is suspected in tax evasion.

Nairi Sargsyan told the crowd to clarify their expectations, emphasizing that the prime minister has numerously stated that he will never interfere in the process of criminal cases.

“If there is anything else that you expect from the prime minister, I am ready to convey it”, he told the demonstrators.

SPAYKA official Karen Baghdasaryan told the official they want the pre-trial detention of Ghazaryan to be cancelled immediately. “Perhaps I’d express myself inaccurately in legal terms but we assume that this is possible through personal guarantees of officials”, Baghdasaryan said.

“And we demand Mr. Prime Minister’s personal guarantees in order for Mr. Ghazaryan to be released. We don’t trust anyone, we trust only him and we ask for his personal guarantee for the court to cancel the decision on pre-trial detention”.

Sargsyan repeated himself that the prime minister cannot interfere in ongoing criminal cases, but nevertheless said he will convey the demands. “I will convey word by word your demand to the prime minister”.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan