The Unit Commander Left the Battlefield Voluntarily: The Investigative Committee Provides Details

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia has reported significant findings from a large-scale investigation carried out within the framework of a criminal case being examined by the Department of Especially Important Cases of the Military Investigative Main Department. During the aggressive war launched by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership against Artsakh since September 27, 2020, it was established that on October 13, 2020, during his time as the First Deputy Commander of Military Unit N, M.M. was aware of the infiltration of enemy soldiers from the west side of the village of Kavak, located near his unit in the Varanda region.

Accompanied by deputy commanders A.A. and L.P., as well as two soldiers who had been called up for military service, M.M. took a vehicle and proceeded towards the mentioned height. However, prior to reaching the Kavak height, they stopped their vehicle at the intersection of the Varanda-Togh highway and the road leading to Aknaghbyur to observe the area. As a result, they spotted the enemy soldiers advancing on the mentioned height.

Additionally, on the left side at Bakhtich height, they also observed enemy soldiers some of whom were advancing towards their direction in a single-file line. In an attempt to resist the enemy, L.P. and A.A. took positions and began firing at the enemy. Meanwhile, M.M. declared that he was returning to the permanent deployment area of the unit under the pretext of bringing reinforcements.

Subsequently, between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM, with the intention of leaving the area of armed conflict, M.M., along with the two soldiers called from the reserves, traveled back towards the unit’s permanent location. Yet, about 500 meters from the unit, he ordered the vehicle to stop, exited the car, and hid in some building. Without returning to the permanent deployment site, he called L.P. to inform him that the soldiers positioned at the permanent site had refused to go to their assistance. With these actions, M.M. voluntarily left the battlefield, remaining hidden for a day before moving towards the direction opposite to the enemy’s advance in the Martuni region.

For the aforementioned alleged crime, charges were brought against M.M. under part 1 of Article 380 of the RA Criminal Code, adopted on April 18, 2003 (which corresponds to part 1 of Article 546 of the RA Criminal Code that came into effect on July 1, 2022). After evaluating the evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation and concluding that the likelihood of conviction by a competent court is high, the accused and his defense have been notified of the completion of the preliminary investigation, and an indictment has been prepared to be submitted to the supervising prosecutor along with the materials of the criminal case for approval and subsequent presentation to the court.

Notice: A person suspected or accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code, with a legally binding court judgment.