Deputy Commander Spread Panic Among Troops and Ordered Retreat in 2020, Investigative Committee

On September 27, 2020, during the state of martial law declared by the government, M.P., the deputy commander of a rifle battalion, spread panic among the personnel of the combat position instead of halting the enemy's advance and preventing its spread, according to reports from the Armenian Investigative Committee.

Specifically, M.P., who had been assigned as the responsible officer for the combat position of military unit N on September 26, 2020, was tasked on September 28 to secure the contact line and airspace of the Republic of Artsakh and prevent breaches of the border. On that day, around 14:00, upon learning that the Azerbaijani armed forces had breached the defense line adjacent to his assigned segment, he was obligated to halt the enemy's advance. Instead of executing a well-organized and concealed retreat, he displayed inaction and committed abuse of power by ignoring the defense of the combat position and leaving it unprotected. In particular, without any order from the battalion commander to retreat from the occupied combat position N, he spread panic among the personnel by claiming that enemy tanks were approaching and would destroy them.

He then ordered an immediate retreat and left the combat position with the entire personnel without engaging in combat, allowing the enemy to advance unhindered and take control of the combat positions.

On June 2, 2023, the supervising prosecutor initiated public criminal proceedings against M.P. for abuse of power, as stipulated in Article 375, Part 4 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003. On July 7, 2023, the prosecutor submitted the materials of the criminal proceedings with an accusatory conclusion to the first instance court of general jurisdiction in the Syunik region.

Notice: The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code and the court's legally binding verdict.