Prosecutor's Office Responds to Taguhi Tovmasyan's Post

The Chair of the Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Taguhi Tovmasyan, took the opportunity to make yet another baseless and superficial criticism of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia in light of a recent statement regarding the initiation of a criminal case following acts of military aggression by the armed forces of Azerbaijan against Armenia.

The Prosecutor's Office issued a statement in response to Tovmasyan's Facebook post, emphasizing that the parliamentarian used a manipulative tactic by basing her remarks on an outdated response from the Prosecutor's Office regarding her inquiry, which dates back a full year. Naturally, the information from that response cannot be compared with factual data collected from a criminal case initiated just two months ago concerning the military aggression.

It is peculiar that in writing her status, the esteemed parliamentarian overlooked a statement published by the Prosecutor's Office on September 27, 2021, regarding the extensive investigation into war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership. This statement clearly indicated that nearly 40 individuals had been charged under several articles of the Armenian Criminal Code, including high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan's military and political leadership as well.

More detailed information has not been published to prevent obstacles to the ongoing investigation and other vital processes. Nevertheless, in order to clarify the prosecutorial activities related to investigations connected to the war, the Prosecutor's Office finds it necessary to publicly reiterate the following:

The initiation of criminal prosecutions against individuals, the decision to charge them as defendants, the selection of preventive measures against them, and the issuance of international warrants do not depend on the procedural actions taken by the competent bodies of other countries, especially when these actions are evidently unlawful and politically motivated.

From the outset, the primary objective of the Prosecutor's Office has been and remains ensuring the sufficiency, completeness, and coherence of the evidence obtained lawfully within the framework of these criminal cases. This is aimed at providing irrefutable legal evaluations of the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership while creating solid and irrefutable bases for full criminal justice, including holding perpetrators accountable through the International Court of Justice.

The Prosecutor's Office will not follow a simplistic principle of merely "retaliating" against Azerbaijan or conducting political persecution based on its example, thereby endangering the entire defense process of the accusations (including at the international level).

For this purpose, within the framework of comprehensive investigations, law enforcement agencies conducting operational investigative actions are undertaking all lawful measures based on prosecutors’ instructions and assignments to specifically individualize and substantiate the criminal actions of representatives of the Azerbaijani armed forces, as well as responsible officials from the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan and Turkey, which has also been noted in response to the parliamentarian's inquiry.

Whether the initiated criminal case is as "impactful" as the parliamentarian sarcastically attempts to label it, or not, is a matter of individual interpretation or attitude. However, it is at least perplexing when a member of parliament can steadfastly overlook the significance of initiating such criminal cases, which are critical not only for uncovering the committed crimes and holding perpetrators accountable but also for the initial legal evaluations of actions taken, the establishment of the basis for the internationalization of evidence collected within the framework of criminal cases, and the generation of broader legal processes.