Prosecutor's Office Demands Arrest of Major Returned from Azerbaijani Captivity on December 4

The Prosecutor's Office has requested the arrest of Major N.E., who was repatriated from Azerbaijani captivity on December 4 and is now facing charges. The Armenian Prosecutor General's Office informed "Factinfo" that an appeal has been filed against the decision to reject the motion for N.E. to be taken into custody.

As reported earlier, the Yerevan General Jurisdiction Court, presided over by Judge Gevorg Poghosyan, had denied the motion for N.E.'s arrest, leaving the decision on other preventive measures to the discretion of the prosecuting authority. Despite the court's ruling that a non-custodial measure should have been selected for the major, the Prosecutor's Office has decided to appeal, demanding the annulment of the judicial act and the issuance of an arrest order for N.E.

This comes at a time when human rights advocates are strongly condemning the prosecution of captives and the deprivation of their liberty. It is a fact that the circumstances of captivity can and should be subject to investigation, but the criminal prosecution of captives can jeopardize the repatriation of other individuals held in Azerbaijani captivity and become a subject of manipulation.

Siranush Sahakyan, a representative of the interests of prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), has stated that it is unacceptable to publicly discuss the prosecution of captives, asserting that, both legally and morally, she does not believe there are grounds for their arrest, given their health conditions and other circumstances certainly do not justify their detention.

Furthermore, the human rights advocate expressed concern that testimonies from captives could later be called into question in international forums. "Azerbaijan will try to present that they are arresting, detaining, torturing them, and obtaining testimonies that are worthy of Armenia, when in fact these individuals have not been tortured but have given false testimonies under threats from the Armenian authorities regarding torture," stated Siranush Sahakyan.

To recall, on November 16, following Azerbaijani aggression, the Armenian Ministry of Defense reported 13 captured and 24 missing servicemen. However, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later revealed that the 24 missing servicemen had been captured and introduced the formula "24+8." On December 4, through the mediation of the Russian side, 10 prisoners of war who had been captured on November 16 during an Azerbaijani aggression from the territory of Armenia were transferred to Armenia.

Upon their return from captivity, the servicemen were interrogated within the framework of a criminal case being investigated by the Investigative Committee. It was revealed yesterday that some of the repatriated prisoners have been arrested, and charges were brought against them under Part 3 of Article 365 of the RA Criminal Code for violating the rules of combat duty or service, which resulted in severe consequences. The prosecuting authority has submitted a motion to the court for the arrest of 5 of the repatriated POWs, four of whom have been accepted. N.E. was the only serviceman for whom the motion was rejected.

Additionally, the Investigative Committee has reported that the 10 captives, who were captured on November 16 and returned on December 19, have also been interrogated within the framework of the criminal case, although it remains officially unknown whether they hold any procedural status.