Why the Officer Arrested for State Treason Has Been Released: He Shares Details

The Deputy Commander of a battalion of the Armenian Armed Forces, Taron Karapetyan, who was recently released from detention in a state treason case, along with his lawyer Alexander Kochubayev, shared details about the charges and his detention with 168.am.

“We were at home. On March 3, around 7 in the morning, they knocked on the door and entered. There were six of them: four masked individuals, the investigator, and a colonel from the National Security Service (NSS). I was not informed about what was happening until I was taken to NSS. They started the interrogation. The next day, I was arrested. The accusation directed at me was the most disgraceful description of my years of devotion to our homeland,” said Taron Karapetyan.

According to him, he has served impeccably for 15 years, protecting our country's borders and the safety of our people. “I participated in the April Four-Day War, the 44-Day War, and the combat operations in Sisian in November 2021. And then they say I am accused of state treason,” the military officer stated.

His attorney, Alexander Kochubayev, noted that in his professional experience, this is probably one of the most absurd criminal cases because the only substantiated suspicion in Taron Karapetyan's criminal case was that 300 euros had been transferred to his personal account from the United Kingdom. This amount was allegedly viewed by the investigative body as treason-related funds. “In reality, Taron Karapetyan’s personal account was linked to one of the online casinos used by one of his relatives. They won some money, and that was all there was to it,” said the lawyer, adding that they are in the process of exoneration and that his client will surely obtain the status of being exonerated.

Kochubayev mentioned that the traces leading to Taron Karapetyan emerged because a certain user of the WhatsApp application linked to Azerbaijani special services was involved in correspondence with both the unidentified individual and Taron Karapetyan, and it was purely personal communication. However, after some time, his client ceased communication with this individual. The lawyer indicated that following exoneration, Taron Karapetyan will be proposed for promotion in both rank and position. He will be granted the title of Lieutenant Colonel and will become the battalion commander.

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