ArmInfo.It is unclear on what basis the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia has personal data of citizens, when this is the exclusive prerogative of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia. Artsvik Minasyan, secretary of the Armenia opposition faction of the RA National Assembly stated at a press conference on January 25, commenting on the court's decision to oblige the National Security Service to remove data on Mourad Papazian and Masis Abrahamyan from the list of foreigners considered 'undesirable' on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
As Minasyan noted, the inclusion of two ARF-members in the list of 'undesirable persons' was done with the direct participation of the Prime Minister's office. "A very limited circle of state institutions, including the courts, the President of the Republic of Armenia, etc., have the right to familiarize themselves with the personal data of citizens, but not the government, much less the Cabinet of Ministers," the parliamentarian said. He added that the National Security Service refuses to provide information regarding representatives of the ARF, citing the fact that we are talking about state secrets. At the same time, the oppositionist continued, the National Security Service did not answer the question on what basis Mourad Papazian was banned from entering the country.
The MPnoted that after all this, the lawyers, represented by Ruben Melikyan, Siranush Sahakyan and Minasyan himself, contacted the Agency for the Protection of Citizens' Personal Data operating under the Ministry of Justice, asking how personal data got into the Prime Minister's Office.Moreover, according to international convention, the Agency is obliged to provide personal data of citizens. Having carried out the necessary investigation, the Agency came to the conclusion that the NSS violated the requirements of the RA Constitution and obliged the Service to provide the necessary information so that the same Mourad Papazian could protect his rights in court. But the NSS Agency ignored this requirement too, filing a claim with the Administrative Court on the legality of this decision. At the same time, a group of lawyers is appealing to the Administrative Court with a demand to declare illegal the decision to include Papazian and Abrahamyan on the list of persons 'undesirable' for entry into the republic. By a court decision, the NSS must remove both persons from this list.
Minasyan recalled that the National Security Service applied the same mechanism in relation to numerous persons of Armenian nationality known for their patriotic activities. According to the current situation, five similar cases are being considered in the courts, including, in addition to Papazian and Abrahamyan, Syune Abrahamyan, Arthur Nzhdeh Karakovoryan and Aslan Aslanyan. The decision of the Administrative Court regarding Papazian and Abrahamyan, according to the MP, is very important from the point of view of protecting the rights of compatriots.
On January 22, the Administrative Court satisfied the claims of ARF Bureau member, co-chairman of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF) Mourad Papazian and the person responsible for the ARF Hay Dat office in Holland Masis Abrahamyan against the National Security Service of Armenia, obliging it to remove data on Mourad Papazian and Masis Abrahamyan from the database of foreigners considered 'undesirable' on the territory of Armenia. In July 2022, it became known that the co-chairman of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), a member of the ARF Dashnaktsuyun Bureau, Mourad Papazian , was banned from entering Armenia. On July 14, Papazian arrived in Armenia with his family, but at the "Zvartnots" airport he was denied entry on the grounds that he was included in the list of 'undesirable' persons. As reported by the RA government, Papazian was prohibited from entering Armenia on the basis of Article 8 of the RA Law "On Foreigners". The reason for the ban, as reported in the press service of the head of government, was the fact that "Mourad Papazian was one of the organizers of the attack on the motorcade of the delegation led by the Prime Minister on June 1, 2021 at the Armenian Embassy in France." "Protesters threw various things at the Prime Minister's motorcade and the situation was overcome only as a result of the intervention of the French police and security forces," the press service of the RA Prime Minister clarified. At the same time, Papazian announced his intention to restore his infringed rights through the courts. And just two weeks later, on August 1 of the same year, it became known that Syune Abrahamyan, a member of the Dutch ARF youth union, and Masis Abrahamyan, the chairman of Hay Dat of Holland, were aslo declared persona non grata.