Wiretapping was ordered from Armenia by a well-known individual, says NSS chief
More than 1 month after the wiretapping scandal, National Security Service Director Arthur Vanetsyan has revealed details from the ongoing investigation into who was able to secretly record the phone conversation between himself and Special Investigative Service Director Sasun Khachatryan.
Speaking to reporters today, he said that the employer – i.e. the person who ordered the wiretapping – is from Armenia. “The National Security Service has nothing to do with the wiretapping,” he said, dismissing rumors that it might had been done from within the system.
He did not reveal the identity or gender of the perpetrator.
He said that the employer is one person, a person who is widely known in the society. He stressed that he doesn’t personally know this person. At the same time, he said that substantiating and documenting this person’s participation in the wiretapping is a very difficult process.
He also released new information about the content of the recorded conversation. He said that on that day he and Khachatryan had ten different phone conversations. He said that the recording was entirely edited and falsely presented to be one conversation.
Vanetsyan said that at the time of the wiretapping he was located in a roaming zone – which facilitated the process of wiretapping his phone.
“When someone is under roaming, operators use different internet and telephone lines to provide cheaper communication. I was under roaming, and the internet line isn’t secure, meaning it isn’t encrypted,” he said.
He also clarified the expression he is heard making in the recording : “Want it or not you must arrest him”. According to him, he meant that if the leader of the investigative group, someone named Hrach, has substantiated the charges against Robert Kocharyan, then the arrest should have taken place. “I didn’t speak to the judge. I gave my phone to the investigators and told them to analyze it. I didn’t speak to the judge, I don’t speak to judges at all,” he added.
Vanetsyan says the main motive of the wiretapping was to achieve his resignation.
