Digest: More on COVID-19 in Armenia, armed robbery takes place in Yerevan

Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 31.08.21:

The Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Azerbaijan on Monday issued an official statement in an attempt to deny the undeniable facts published by the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Armenia (RA), the ombudsman staff noted in a statement.

The Armenian ombudsman reaffirms his statement issued Monday that Azerbaijani servicemen are deliberately setting fires—from near their tents—in the vicinity of the Sotk and Kut villages of Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province.

All the aforesaid undeniable facts were passed on to the Human Rights Defender’s staff by the villagers. The staff thoroughly verified this from several sources, including objective evidence.

An armed robbery took place Tuesday in Yerevan, shamshyan.com reported.

An unidentified person entered a bank branch in a shopping mall—and with a gas pistol—and stole a bundle of money under the threat of a gun.

But security officers, ordinary citizens, and police patrol officers together rendered this person ineffective on the spot, and he was taken to a police station.

According to preliminary information, the stolen money exceeds 100 million drams (approx. US$203,600).

Police patrol officers have isolated this area and have beefed up security there.

The working visit of the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan to the Russian Federation took place, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The tete-a-tete meeting of the FM of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and FM of Russia Sergey Lavrov has commenced and has been followed by an enlarged meeting.

The court session on the criminal case against second President Robert Kocharyan and former deputy prime minister Armen Gevorgyan—who is now an MP of the opposition “Armenia” Faction in the National Assembly—has resumed Tuesday in Yerevan.

The previous court hearing last week was accompanied by a scandal. After Presiding Judge Anna Danibekyan put off the consideration of the motions by defense attorneys Erik Aleksanyan and Hovhannes Khudoyan, Aleksanyan had accused the judge of being biased and asked that the hearing be adjourned so that he could prepare a motion for the recusal of this judge.