39 Individuals Charged with Illegally Transporting and Circulating Weapons from Artsakh to Armenia

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia has announced that during and after the war, 39 individuals have been charged with the illegal transportation and circulation of weapons and ammunition from Artsakh to Armenia, with five having been sentenced to imprisonment.

Here is the statement released by the Prosecutor General's Office:

“Since the onset of the aggressive war unleashed by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia, conducted from September 27 to November 9, 2020, up to March 15, 2021, due to military operations in Artsakh, 95 criminal cases have been initiated regarding the illegal acquisition, theft, and transportation to the Republic of Armenia of firearms, explosives, or devices as stipulated in various parts of Article 235 and part 3 of Article 238 of the RA Criminal Code.

Of the mentioned criminal cases, proceedings on 14 have been suspended due to the identities of the individuals committing the apparent crimes being unknown. Meanwhile, proceedings concerning 13 criminal cases have been discontinued. The investigation continues on 63 criminal cases, with necessary investigative, procedural, and operational-search measures being undertaken to fully clarify all circumstances surrounding the acquisition and circulation of the seized weapons and ammunition, to identify the individuals involved in criminal acts, and to discover other illegally acquired, transported, and sold weapons and ammunition as well.

Analysis of the materials of the criminal cases shows that the weapons, military ammunition, explosives, or devices were acquired from various defensive sectors of the Republic of Artsakh and were either used or intended for use in military operations against the enemy during the war.

Mainly, AK-74, AKM, AK-SU assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, switchblades, firearms equipped with optical devices with high precision targeting capabilities, anti-tank grenade launchers fitted with optical devices, boxes of ammunition of various calibers, and other high-destruction explosives with substantial tactical and technical characteristics, and various types of grenades were found and seized.

These items were mainly transported to the territory of the Republic of Armenia during and after the war, typically concealed in vehicles, sometimes with prior coordination among several individuals in a group.

A significant portion of the illegally obtained and transported weaponry has been discovered primarily during inspections of vehicles at checkpoints placed along various parts of the Stepanakert-Goris highway by law enforcement personnel, as well as through the implementation of operational intelligence measures based on received intelligence data.

Based on the evidence gathered by March 15, 2021, 39 individuals have been implicated as defendants in the ongoing or examined criminal cases for committing the criminal acts prescribed by the aforementioned articles of the RA Criminal Code. Out of these defendants, 9 have been subjected to pre-trial detention, 26 have been released on signature not to leave, 2 have been placed under bail, and 2 have been handed over for command supervision.

4 criminal cases against 6 individuals have been sent to court with an accusatory conclusion, resulting in a verdict for 5 individuals in 3 of the cases. For these individuals, 2 have been sentenced to 1 year of imprisonment, 2 to 2 years, and 1 to 4 years.

Judicial proceedings are ongoing in 1 case in court.”