Commander Failing to Ensure Security of Hin Tagher Combat Positions to be Arrested, Prosecutor's Office

The Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan has granted on November 8 a request to select detention as a preventive measure against the commander of a rifle battalion, who is involved in a criminal case regarding the aggressive war unleashed and conducted by the military-political leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh.

As reported by the Public Relations Department of the RA Prosecutor's Office, the preliminary investigation of the mentioned criminal case revealed that the commander, being the head of the subordinate personnel, received an order to ensure the security of 12 combat positions on the eastern border of the Hin Tagher area in the Hadrut region of the Republic of Artsakh while on combat duty, following the adoption of the trilateral statement on the establishment of a ceasefire in the Artsakh war on November 9, 2020.

During the combat operations occurring between December 11 and 12, 2020, those positions fell under enemy control, and 11 servicemen stationed at combat position number N were surrounded, resulting in nine casualties and two being taken captive.

Based on the aggregation of sufficient factual data obtained during the preliminary investigation, charges were filed against the rifle battalion commander on April 30, 2021, under the 3rd part of Article 376 of the RA Criminal Code. A motion for selection of detention as a preventive measure was filed to the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan, which was rejected by the court's decision on May 1, 2021.

The decision was appealed by the prosecutor overseeing the legality of the pre-trial criminal proceedings to the RA Court of Appeal, which granted the appeal on July 14, 2021, and sent the case back for new examination to the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan. As a result, the First Instance Court selected detention as the preventive measure against the accused by its decision on November 8, 2021.