At a press conference with Chief of Yerevan's Police Nerses Nazaryan, journalists’ questions mainly referred to the clarification of the circumstances of businessman Saribek Sukiasyan’s arrest last week, even though the press conference was dedicated to the summary of the results of Yerevan's Police Department’s activities in 2009.

Speaking about Sukiasyan (detained by police last Friday on suspicion of issuing a murder threat against a fellow entrepreneur and with illegally possessing arms), Nazaryan said that the Police had simply followed a lead; and in this case it was not important who was being detained.

Commenting on the circumstances of Sukiasyan’s release after being kept at the police office for 72 hours, Nazaryan said that Gor Davtyan who registered a protest against Sukiasyan, later changed his testimony, and he said that a murder threat had been issued against him, however no weapons were involved.

Speaking about the Yerevan's police department’s activities in 2009, Nazaryan said that last year crimes increased from a registered 4,816 in 2008 to 7,026 in 2009.

About 50 percent of crimes committed in Armenia are registered in Yerevan, including 61.9 percent of grave and 61.5 percent of very grave crimes. The growth of crime cases was mainly registered at the expense of crimes against property and an individual.