Two High-Ranking Officers Detained by NSS Provide Testimonies Denying Davit Tonoyan's Charges: Legal Team

The legal team of former Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan has issued a statement regarding recent developments in his criminal case.

“Recently, we learned that the NSS has detained Artem Hambaryan, the head of the aviation technical assets service of the Ministry of Defense, and Vladimir Babayan, the chief engineer of the aviation department, both previously interrogated as witnesses in the case against Davit Tonoyan. These high-ranking officers provided testimonies that do not contradict other evidence in the case and specifically deny the charges against Tonoyan.

The defense team also possesses additional information regarding the motivations behind the detention of these two individuals, which we currently deem inappropriate to disclose publicly.

This approach deepens our serious concerns about the NSS potentially steering the investigative process, including through illegal methods, to keep Davit Tonoyan in custody for as long as possible and create the illusion of substantiation for an already crumbling case.

Additionally, it is necessary to address the NSS's statement claiming that some of the missiles acquired some time after the delivery were never fired and have been written off, and that the remainder allegedly were not used at all, including during the 44-day war that began on September 27, 2020.

This information appears to be more manipulative and misleading than factual, as it contradicts already obtained data within the same criminal case. Specifically, according to the materials of the case, some of these missiles were used not only during the 2020 war but also prior to that during training exercises, and no evidence has been obtained regarding their poor quality or failure to fulfill combat tasks.

It is also appropriate to remind that the Prime Minister of Armenia recently stated in the National Assembly that this criminal case was initiated by the National Security Service, subordinate to the Prime Minister, and all international reports indicate that without political will, cases of this nature cannot be uncovered or pursued effectively.

We urge the Prime Minister and his subordinate agency to genuinely demonstrate political will to ensure an objective investigation of this case and to uncover the truth. Only after ensuring such objectivity will we consider addressing the examination of the suitability of the ammunition, the terms of its production and storage, as well as clarifying the concept of 'market price' with the help of an independent expert assessment.