French-Armenian community leader Mourad Papazian was denied entry to Armenia over a “2021 attack on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motorcade in Paris,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in comments to Armenpress.
Chairman of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), ARF Bureau member Mourad Frank Papazian was deported upon his Armenia in Armenia on July 13.
The Prime Minister’s Office clarified that he was denied entry into the Republic of Armenia based on Clause G and Z, Article 8 of the Law on Foreign Nationals.
“This person is one of the organizers of the attack on the official motorcade – displaying the state flag of Armenia – of the governmental delegation led by the Prime Minister near the Armenian Embassy in France on June 1 last year. Various objects and items were thrown in the direction of the motorcade. The official Armenian flag-bearing car carrying the Prime Minister was attacked and the situation was resolved only as a result of intervention by French police and security forces,” the statement reads.
The PM’s Office said “information showing what happened has been published by many media outlets, and the footage is available online. The other active participants of the attack were also denied entry to Armenia. Moreover, the Republic of Armenia does not have any reservations against any participant of peaceful rallies, while those who organized the attacks and took part in them were banned from entering the Republic of Armenia by law.”
Article 8 of the Law on Foreign Nationals envisages the grounds for denying a foreign national an entry visa, revoking a visa or banning from entering the country.
