Due to Major and Lieutenant Colonel, the Adversary Took Control of the Combat Positions Map in 'Hin Tagher'

After the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, the 120-member personnel of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Armenian Defense Ministry, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J.M., was placed under the direct command of the Defense Army Commander from November 26, 2020, and began combat duty in 12 combat positions along the eastern border of the 'Hin Tagher' area.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, on December 11, 2020, around 20:30, Azerbaijani armed forces, violating the ceasefire regime, launched an attack on the combat position No. N of the mentioned battalion, where the battalion's chief of staff, Major V.Q., was also on duty. As a result of 40 minutes of hostilities, under the command of Major V.Q., the personnel were forced to retreat, resulting in the combat position being under the control of the adversary.

Major V.Q., being responsible for the preservation of documents containing state secrets, did not take measures to remove the map of the battalion’s combat positions during the retreat, allowing the adversary to gain access to the map and learn the coordinates and outlines of all positions in the eastern section of the 'Hin Tagher' area.

During the same period, the commander of the personnel in combat duty, Lieutenant Colonel J.M., did not adequately fulfill his official duties. In particular, J.M. only reported to the higher command about the adversary's attack on position No. N and the presence of injured personnel. Furthermore, he informed the higher command about the calming of the situation, despite the ongoing accumulation of enemy forces.

Subsequently, knowing about the adversary's accumulations and also aware of the possibility of another combat position’s personnel withdrawing, J.M., without sufficient grounds, ordered the personnel of the mentioned position to stay and continue circular defense, assuring them that help would arrive shortly.

As a result, from December 11, 2020, 20:30 until December 12, 2020, 12:00, the personnel of position No. N, acting under the orders of Commander J.M., gradually found themselves completely surrounded by the adversary and were deprived of the opportunity to exit from the encirclement in a timely manner.

On December 12, 2020, around 12:00, soldiers A.Sh., R.M., S.A., A.M., G.B., S.H., H.A., H.M., and G.A., serving in another combat position, under the conditions of promised absent aid, had no other choice but to exit the position and found themselves in the field of view of the amassed adversary’s armed forces and were killed, while the observers of the same position, A.H. and D.O., managed to find alternative paths to escape and were captured by the adversary on December 13, 2020.

On June 2, 2023, materials from the criminal proceedings were submitted to the Military Prosecutor's Office of Armenia, charging Commander Lieutenant Colonel J.M. and the Chief of Staff Major V.Q. under the third part of Article 376 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003 (careless attitude towards duty).

On June 8, 2023, the supervising prosecutor confirmed the indictment and submitted the materials to the Syunik region’s first-instance court of general jurisdiction.