Battalion Commander Accused of Soldier Losses and Abandoning Battlefield

Based on sufficient evidence collected during the investigation of the criminal case related to the Artsakh war, it has been established that Major I.V., the commander of the newly recruited battalion of Military Unit N of the Defense Army, as the direct superior of the conscripts and junior officers of the same unit, during the state of martial law declared by the Government of Armenia on September 27, 2020, failed to actively participate in the combat operations that took place on October 10, 2020, around 12:00, near the city of Hadrut in the Republic of Artsakh. His actions were motivated by personal interests to avoid endangering his own life, displaying negligence of authority.

In particular, he did not fulfill the obligations imposed on him by the internal service regulations of the Armed Forces of Armenia and the combat charter of the Armed Forces, which carelessly resulted in severe consequences. Specifically, several soldiers of the rifle battalion of Military Unit N of the Defense Army of Artsakh were killed, went missing, were taken prisoner, and sustained various degrees of physical injuries.

Furthermore, on October 10, 2020, around 12:00, during the battle at the aforementioned location on Mount Khurhat, I.V. voluntarily abandoned the combat positions.

On February 21, 2022, I.V. was charged under Part 4 of Article 375 and Part 1 of Article 380 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The prosecuting body forwarded the criminal case with an accusatory conclusion to the supervising prosecutor on February 25, 2022, for approval and submission to the court.

Following the judicial supervision of the legality of pre-trial proceedings, the supervising prosecutor made a decision to approve the accusatory conclusion on February 28, 2022, and on the same day, the criminal case was sent to the general jurisdiction court of Syunik region.

Note: A suspect or accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court judgment that has entered into legal force in accordance with the rules established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.