Artsakh Police Provide Details on Azerbaijani Soldier Found in Apartment

The Artsakh police have issued a statement: “Based on operational information received by the Artsakh Police and the National Security Service, and thanks to the vigilance of our citizens, on August 25 of this year, an Azerbaijani Armed Forces soldier, Jamil Babaev, was discovered in an apartment on Teryan Street in Martakert City. On the same day, he was detained by the National Security Service of Artsakh. A criminal case has been initiated in connection with his illegal crossing of the Artsakh state border, making threats to the underage residents of the apartment, and espionage.

J. Babaev has been arrested, and an investigation is underway. Further information regarding the circumstances of this incident will be provided in the near future. At the same time, we find it necessary to respond to the publications that began yesterday regarding this incident. The Artsakh Prosecutor's Office considers the dissemination, publication, and uploading of information related to the internal and external security and military sector of the Republic of Artsakh to be unacceptable. Such actions can often lead to irreversible consequences, hinder the rapid prevention and disruption of other crimes, and the full uncovering of the circumstances of the incident, as well as incite unfounded panic or uncontrollable situations with all their negative outcomes, which we believe are understandable and predictable.

Such manifestations are also accompanied by the publication of personal information about individuals, the disclosure of the victim's residence, identity, or other personal data, which should also be excluded. When law enforcement agencies discuss the potential organizational acts of diversion by the adversary or the infiltration and espionage by a criminal group into the territory of Artsakh, the proper discussion of these possibilities and the opportunity to discover the criminals are directly connected to the secrecy of the disclosure of the incident. Meanwhile, if citizens or others engage in unauthorized coverage or distribution of the circumstances of the incident, the chances of achieving success in those situations are nearly nullified.

To avoid such situations, the professional qualifications of law enforcement agencies, the operational capacity and skills for ensuring the confidentiality of investigative actions are essential, but it is equally crucial for citizens to exhibit civic awareness, patient restraint, and an understanding of the necessity to refrain from the temptation of being the first to disseminate information that could lead to dangerous public consequences.

We assure you that in the current conditions of external and internal threats and dangers, the Artsakh Prosecutor's Office is extraordinarily open and public, ready to respond to any inquiries regarding information that is subject to publication and does not contain secrets. Therefore, in such situations, it is more advisable to rely on constitutional rights to obtain information.