Two Mercenaries Sentenced to Life Imprisonment: The Prosecutor General Discusses Crimes During the 44-Day War

During 2021, 2,150 criminal cases related to crimes committed during the 44-day war were reviewed. By the end of the year, criminal proceedings had been initiated against 800 individuals. “55 individuals have already been prosecuted in these criminal cases, and we have corresponding verdicts. It has been established, unfortunately, that during the military operations, representatives of our Armed Forces, many officers including senior officers, exhibited failures in performing their combat service duties, leading to criminal prosecutions against these individuals. There are also individuals who have been prosecuted, while investigations on the remaining cases are ongoing,” declared Armenian Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan in the National Assembly.

The Prosecutor General assured that they are committed to fully revealing the objective truth in these cases and holding each individual accountable for the criminal violations, particularly those violations that resulted in the tragic outcome of the war.

Regarding the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership, Davtyan stated that the objective evidences indicate that gross violations of international humanitarian law have been committed by both the Azerbaijani military-political leadership and soldiers. In specific incidents, residential areas and civilian individuals have been deliberately targeted, resulting in the killing of civilians, violations of the rules of warfare, the use of prohibited weaponry, and the targeting and destruction of Armenian cultural heritage. Acts of violence, torture, and murder have also been reported.

Davtyan noted that the objective facts gathered in the criminal case evidently demonstrate that as early as June-July 2020, mercenaries were recruited by well-known terrorist groups from the northern regions of Syria. These mercenaries were moved across the Turkey-Syria state border to Turkey, from where they were transported to Azerbaijan for military training.

“They underwent special training for combat operations in mountainous areas and received instructions on killing and torturing the civilian population. During the war, our armed forces managed to detect and arrest two such mercenaries, who provided detailed information about everything I have discussed,” stated the Prosecutor General.

Two mercenaries have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Currently, there are about 60 representatives of the Azerbaijani military-political leadership under criminal prosecution.