Two Individuals Have Given Confessional Testimonies; Performed State Treason, NSS Says

The Investigative Department of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia has completed a comprehensive and effective investigation, securing sufficient factual data indicating that a citizen of the Republic of Armenia has spent considerable time in the Republic of Turkey, during which time he came under the surveillance of Azerbaijani intelligence services operating in that country and was recruited by a representative of the mentioned organization.

Upon returning to his permanent residence, the citizen of the Republic of Armenia conveyed his mobile phone number to an employee of a foreign intelligence service through an acquaintance living in Turkey. As a result, during subsequent phone conversations, the citizen received an offer from a representative of the aforementioned organization, which engages in hostile activities, to carry out criminal activities detrimental to the territorial integrity and external security of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, in exchange for compensation. He was asked to acquire state secrets regarding the armed forces and armaments or to transfer any information already accessible to him, after which he signed an agreement with the mentioned individual and sent it over the internet, along with the selection of his pseudonym.

Following that, the citizen collected state and service secret data, as well as other types of information, in connection with providing assistance to the foreign organization in its hostile activities. He conveyed this information to the foreign intelligence service's employee both personally and through his wife during internet communications and received approximately 1,500 USD as compensation for his activities.

Based on sufficient evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation, the citizen of the Republic of Armenia has been charged under Part 1 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, and he has been taken into custody. The wife of the citizen has also been engaged as a defendant for aiding state treason and has been given a non-custodial preventive measure.

Both defendants have fully admitted their guilt and provided confessional testimonies. On April 5, 2021, the criminal case against these two individuals was sent to the prosecutor overseeing the preliminary investigation for the purpose of filing an indictment and forwarding the case to the court for substantive examination.

The National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia warns that it will carry out a consistent and uncompromising struggle against the intelligence activities of foreign state special services and other organizations, as well as individual persons, continuing to take effective measures to protect individual, societal, and state security, the constitutional order, and the rights and freedoms of citizens from internal and external threats.

Notice: A person suspected or accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, by a court judgment that has entered into legal force.