Human rights activist Ruben Melikyan denies links with fake Facebook account

Panorama, Armenia
March 8 2021

Human rights activist, former Artsakh Human Rights Defender and Armenia’s former Deputy Justice Minister Ruben Melikyan has denied any connection with a fake Facebook account opened in the same of a certain “Gagik Soghomonyan”.

According to a report of a Telegram channel, Melikyan has been included in the National Secirity Service (NSS) list of persons who have used the same IP address of a server called ProtonVPN which has been used by the fake account, the human rights activist said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

“Yes, in October or November I downloaded the free version of ProtonVPN. I didn't really understand the software, but I logged in several times to read materials of interest to me which could not be accessed through an Armenian IP,” he wrote.

“I don’t know which countries’ IP addresses the program was using. ProtonVPN software is still installed on my phone.

“I don’t know whether I have actually been included in the NSS list related to “Gagik Soghomonyan”. I am not “Gagik Soghomonyan” and I have no connection with it or any other fake account. This is not my style.

“If you are going to arrest me, it is desirable to do it right now – on the eve of March 8,” Melikyan said.