Sufficient Evidence Found to Initiate Criminal Case Against Chief of General Staff Artak Davtyan: Gevorg Gorgisyan

Gevorg Gorgisyan, a member of the parliamentary faction "Bright Armenia," announced on his Facebook page: "The head of the information department of the RA Armed Forces General Staff, Samvel Asatryan, has made a statement—in defense of Chief of Staff Artak Davtyan—crossing the bounds of propriety. I must point out that representatives of the "Bright Armenia" party have always expressed themselves about the RA Armed Forces with special respect and caution, yet this personal statement compels me to provide an appropriate response.

As a member of the permanent commission on Defense and Security Issues of the National Assembly of Armenia and the investigative commission studying the circumstances of the April Four-Day War, I assert that during the work of the investigative commission, sufficient evidence has been revealed to initiate a criminal case against Artak Davtyan under Article 376 of the RA Criminal Code (negligent attitude towards service), and upon clarification of certain circumstances, potentially under Article 299 (high treason).

The members of the governing party who worked in the commission are also well aware of the aforementioned facts, and the commission's chairman Andranik Kocharyan has even made a statement. To quote him literally: "Artak Davtyan played a very poor role during the military operations of 2016 as the head of the Operations Department." If we also consider Mr. Davtyan's decisions during his time as Chief of Staff, which included the reduction of military formations in Syunik, the ineffective procurement of Su-30SM fighter jets, the removal of radio-electronic measures as scrap metal, as well as several known and unknown problematic episodes from his previous activities, obvious questions arise about the compatibility of Artak Davtyan's tenure and his actions with the interests of the Republic of Armenia.

I believe all members of the "Bright Armenia" faction's assertions regarding Artak Davtyan and his actions are substantiated and even relatively lenient. I am confident that the details of Davtyan's activities will be investigated after a change of power, within the framework of corresponding criminal cases.

P.S. The lawlessness and chaos in the country have deepened to the extent that subordinate bodies have begun to brashly challenge their superiors.