Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense Punishes Soldiers Who Filmed Captured Armenian Officer

On August 23, due to extremely unfavorable weather conditions, Armenian Armed Forces officer Gurgen Alaverdyan became lost and ended up in Azerbaijan. As a result, one sergeant and four contract servicemen at the unit of those who captured him have been dismissed from the army, while the commanders of the unit and squad have been stripped of their ranks. In total, 14 servicemen have been punished. This information was reported by Razm.info.

The reason for the punishment was the military personnel's recording and publication of the incident following the capture of the Armenian officer. This was disclosed by Habib Abdullayev, coordinator of the Azerbaijani opposition news site Meydan.tv.

The video featuring Gurgen Alaverdyan circulated online just one hour after the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense's announcement regarding his disorientation.

The Azerbaijani news outlet “Virtual Azərbaycan” attempted to confirm this news with the Ministry of Defense, which in response claimed that certain servicemen who sent existing recordings (not ones they filmed) to acquaintances had been dismissed. Thus, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has confirmed the dismissal of military personnel due to the circulated materials.

It is important to note that the Azerbaijani side is attempting to present Gurgen Alaverdyan as a saboteur. For this purpose, on the evening of August 24, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense published a photo of Alaverdyan along with an image of his supposed belongings, which included specialized black gear, an AK-103 assault rifle, a grenade, and communication equipment. However, in the video released by the aforementioned soldiers on the day of his capture, Alaverdyan is seen without that gear, which clearly exposes the Azerbaijani setup.