Two Syrian Mercenary Terrorists Detained in Armenia Not Subject to Exchange, Says Rima Eghanyan

Two Syrian mercenary terrorists detained in Armenia are not prisoners of war and are not subject to surrender or exchange. This was stated by Rima Eghanyan, the head of the information and public relations department of the Armenian Investigative Committee, in an interview with Armenpress.

"They are in the status of accused and are detained," Eghanyan said.

Yousef Alabet Al Haji and Muharab Mohammed Al Shakheri, citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic and of Arab ethnicity, are accused under Article 389 (international terrorism) of the RA Criminal Code, as well as under the first and third parts of the Article 34-390 (serious violations of international humanitarian norms during armed conflicts) and Article 395, Part 3 (mercenarism).

They participated in the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and were arrested by the forces of the Artsakh Defense Army. The impossibility of handing over mercenary-terrorists puts an end to the discussions regarding their exchange in the context of the principle of exchanging "all for all."