Why Mikhail Arzumanyan Faces Charges

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia has revealed the reasons behind the charges against Major General Mikhail Arzumanyan following extensive investigative and procedural actions within a criminal case being handled by the Main Military Investigative Department’s office for particularly important cases.

It has been established that M. A., who held a military leadership position as a major general and was a public official, exceeded his official powers during the aggressive war unleashed by the military-political leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2020, driven by personal interests aimed at emphasizing the authority and dominant position of a military officer. This negligence resulted in serious material consequences.

Specifically, on September 28, 2020, the strategic command observation post known as ‘Arega’ and nearby combat positions in the northeastern direction of the Artsakh Republic were captured by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. An attempted counter-offensive by friendly units on September 28 to reclaim the lost positions failed.

The following day, September 29, a new counter-offensive operation was launched by friendly units to reclaim the Arega height and adjoining combat positions, which was met with success. On that day at 09:50, the units managed to regain control of the Arega height, inflicting significant losses on the enemy, including the destruction of around 10 armored vehicles and killing dozens of enemy soldiers.

At around 16:00 on September 29, Major General M. A. approached the units that had liberated the Arega height and, upon learning that the position and its surrounding areas were under their control, ordered them to withdraw, citing that another operation was planned for that location. The units refused to comply with M. A.'s ‘retreat’ order. In response, M. A. instructed them to contact the battalion commander and subsequently used radio communication to order subordinate units to abandon the liberated Arega height.

In reaction to M. A.’s command, the battalion commander resistantly argued against the retreat, highlighting the risk of the enemy occupying a commanding position should they withdraw. Nevertheless, Major General M. A., utilizing his past direct authority over the battalion commander, insisted on immediate compliance with his order, asserting that he was better informed about the situation and had the situation under control due to being in the deeper defense line.

This resulted in the units retreating to their original position, allowing the enemy to advance without resistance and, by 23:00 that same day, retake control of the Arega height and adjacent combat positions, fortifying their forces and observing the defense line of the friendly units.

Counteroffensive operations by friendly units on October 3 and 5 to reclaim the Arega height failed, resulting in casualties and injuries among friendly units.

On September 1, 2022, M.A. was charged under Article 375, Part 4 of the RA Criminal Code, which corresponds to Article 549, Part 3 of the current Criminal Code.

It is also noted that on August 30, M.A. was charged with official negligence during the organization of the defense of Shushi city and adjacent areas under Article 376, Part 3 of the RA Criminal Code, and a motion was filed to apply detention as a measure of restraint. On September 1, 2022, the First Instance General Jurisdiction Court of Yerevan approved this motion, applying detention for two months as a preventive measure. The pre-trial investigation continues.