Major Returned from Captivity Arrested; Court Upholds Prosecutor's Appeal

A major identified as N. E., who was repatriated from Azerbaijani captivity on December 4 and currently holds a defendant status, has been arrested. The Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Tigran Simonyan, granted the prosecutor's appeal, overturning the initial decision that had rejected the request to select arrest as a preventive measure and ruling for the detention of N. E.

Defense attorney Karmen Poghosyan stated in an interview with Factorinfo that he would file an appeal upon receiving the court's decision.

As previously reported, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, under Judge Gevorg Poghosyan, had rejected the request to arrest N. E., leaving the choice of alternative preventive measures to the investigating authority. The preliminary investigative body had not chosen an alternative measure, while the prosecution had lodged an appellate complaint requesting the major's arrest.

This situation comes amid strong condemnation from human rights advocates regarding the criminal prosecutions of captives and the implications of depriving them of freedom. It is a fact that the circumstances of captivity may and should become subjects of investigation, yet the criminal prosecutions against captives can potentially damage the repatriation of other individuals held captive in Azerbaijan and can also become a subject of exploitation.

Siranush Sahakyan, a representative for the interests of military captives and civilians held in Azerbaijan at the European Court of Human Rights, expressed that it is unacceptable to discuss criminal prosecutions against captives in the public sphere and asserted that both from a legal and moral standpoint, there are no grounds for their detention, as their health conditions and other circumstances do not justify their lack of freedom.

Furthermore, the human rights advocate expressed concern that testimonies from captives may later be called into question in international courts. “Azerbaijan will attempt to portray that they are being arrested, detained, tortured, and providing testimonies deemed acceptable to Armenia, whereas in reality, these individuals have given false testimonies under threats from Armenian authorities, rather than experiencing actual torture,” Sahakyan stated.

It is worth noting that following the Azerbaijani aggression on November 16, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia reported 13 captives and 24 missing servicemen. Subsequently, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the 24 missing servicemen had actually been captured and introduced the concept of “24+8”. On December 4, with Russian mediation, 10 prisoners of war who had been captured on November 16 on Armenian sovereign territory as a result of Azerbaijani aggression were repatriated to Armenia.

After their return from captivity, the servicemen were interrogated within the framework of a criminal case being investigated by the Investigative Committee. It was revealed that some of the repatriated captives were arrested and charged under Article 365, Part 3 of the Armenian Criminal Code for violation of combat duty or service regulations that resulted in severe consequences. The prosecuting authority filed a motion to select arrest as a preventive measure for five of the repatriated captives, four of whom were granted bail. N. E. was the only serviceman for whom the motion was denied.

Additionally, the Investigative Committee reported that the 10 captives who were taken on November 16 and repatriated on December 19 have also been interrogated within the criminal case, although whether they hold any procedural status has not yet been officially disclosed.