Rumors about large number of Armenian prisoners in U.S. are greatly exaggerated.

Armenia’s Consulate General was informed 151 Armenian citizens were arrested in the first half of 2011. Only a few were sentenced to jail, Armenian Foreign Ministry informed Armenian News - NEWS.am.

According to the same data, the number of Armenian citizens serving sentences in Los Angeles prisons does not exceed 1,000.

However, the number of Armenian citizens who are deported from the country has recently increased. In 2011 the U.S. authorities appealed to Armenia’s Consulate General in Los Angeles in connection with the deportation of 50 citizens of Armenia. They are mainly deported due to violation of terms of the stay in US.

Consul General Grigor Hovhannisyan visited one of the Los Angeles prisons on Monday. During the visit, Hovhannisyan met with prisoners of Armenian descent, as well as the citizens of Armenia serving the penalty.