No one has been brought to justice. You wonder why Armenian law enforcement immediately becomes paralyzed when such incidents take place. One gets the impression that they have been instructed to fold their hands and not launch criminal charges.
The more we dig behind the scenes of the cultural arena in Armenia, the more we unearth frightening proof that the situation is less than adequate.
After Hetq first broke the story about art going missing from the National Gallery, the police promised to tell us why no one has ever been arrested or charged with the theft. The Police Department’s Public Affairs Unit contacted us today, stating that an investigation into the matter and that it was likely that criminal charges would be forthcoming.
In 2010, a 19 century sculpture entitled “Satyr with Lyre”, by an unknown artist disappeared from Armenia’s National Gallery. This fact was concealed for one year by the Gallery’s administration. It later tuned out that another ten art works had also vanished.