Deputy Commander of Military Unit Pretended to be Injured During War

The deputy commander for moral and psychological support of the Defense Army’s military unit No. N (division), Colonel M.B., approached the military hospital in Mekhakavan, located in the village of Togh in the Hadrut region, on October 3, 2020, claiming to have sustained an injury in the area of his right knee joint. An examination revealed only swelling in the right knee area, and a fixator was placed to limit joint mobility.

According to the prosecution office, M.B. was ordered by higher command to continue fulfilling his military obligations, specifically to conduct moral and psychological work with the personnel stationed in Hadrut city. Understanding that he did not have the option to cease fulfilling his military duties due to his health condition, M.B. attempted to create the illusion of having been injured during combat operations by repeatedly applying a type of iodine liquid to the swollen area of his right knee and bandaging it with a thickly soaked gauze, resulting in a second-degree burn around his right knee joint.

On October 10, 2020, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., the vehicle transporting M.B. and a fellow soldier to the division’s command post came under artillery fire. As a result of the shelling, only the driver sustained shrapnel injuries. Despite being in the same vehicle and not suffering any bodily injuries, M.B. misled the personnel by claiming he had been injured during the shelling, knowing that no one was aware of his condition.

Based on M.B.'s behavior, his comrades sent him to the ‘Hadrut Medical Unit’ LLC, and on October 10, 2020, M.B. was dismissed from his position. On September 27, 2023, public criminal proceedings were initiated against M.B. for temporarily ceasing military service or individual obligations by means of deception during a state of war. On September 29, 2023, the prosecutor confirmed the indictment and submitted the case materials to the first instance court of general jurisdiction in the Syunik region.