It is Not for Purchasing "Useless" Missiles that Tonoyan is Detained: Statement from the Legal Team

1/ As we previously reported, we submitted a motion to the investigator to terminate the criminal proceedings against Davit Tonoyan, which was rejected. We have appealed this to the Prosecutor General of Armenia. We have received a decision from the prosecutor supervising the pre-investigation proceedings, which rejected our appeal. After reviewing this decision, the defense has come to the final conclusion that the prosecutor's office has also become complicit in the violations occurring over the past four months.

The prosecutor has provided formulations in the decision to reject the appeal that do not stem from the materials of the criminal case. Specifically, the decision states that the guidance of a deputy commander from the military unit of the country of origin of the weapons (on the basis of which the missile maintenance periods were calculated) is an authoritative document for the Armenian Armed Forces (AAF) and the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, allegedly indicated by the Chief of General Staff of Armenia in one of his reports to the Minister of Defense. However, there is no such report in the criminal case where the Chief of General Staff mentions the circumstance of this guidance being an authoritative document. Additionally, how can the instruction of a deputy commander from another country’s military unit be considered an authoritative document for the Armenian Ministry of Defense or the AAF, even if it is mentioned in a report by the Chief of General Staff?

Neither the investigator nor the prosecutor has wanted to pay attention to the fact that according to another piece of evidence available in the same criminal case, a document was put into circulation in the armed forces of the country of origin in 2013, establishing new maintenance periods for the missiles that are 10 years longer than previously, during which the acquired missiles were within the maintenance periods.

2/ We continue to assert that the charges against Davit Tonoyan are more than unfounded and do not stem from the materials of the criminal case. Specifically, it is mentioned in the indictment that the missiles were procured at a significantly higher price than the market price. However, it has been established even in the criminal case that at the time of the purchase in 2018, the price per missile was cheaper by 100 US dollars compared to previous acquisitions of the same item. Moreover, military products are not market commodities; they cannot have market prices. Depending on the supply-demand ratio, transportation, and other circumstances, their prices can change at any time. Additionally, it has been established in the criminal case that prior to the acquisition, the same missiles were used as collateral for a price that was 100 US dollars higher than the acquisition price in 2018. Under such conditions, Davit Tonoyan is accused of procuring missiles at a price significantly higher than their market value, while the criminal case does not properly clarify what their market price could have been.

The same indictment states that the missiles were purchased without considering the actual demand for their acquisition within the Armenian Ministry of Defense. However, according to the evidence available in the same criminal case, the Ministry of Defense has demand for them both at the time of acquisition and now. All testimonies indicate that no deadline for the missiles was ever set in Armenia, and on the contrary, according to the regulations in force at the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, these missiles are deemed usable and applicable until 2026. In such a case, the act cannot be classified as "waste" or "misappropriation" in any way.

3/ In conclusion, the absence of evidence in the criminal case, selective and subjective interpretation of existing documents, and the complete lack of objectivity throughout the pre-investigation provide the defense with grounds to confidently assert that Davit Tonoyan is being prosecuted and held in custody not for purchasing "useless" missiles.