How Much Money Does Armenia Spend to Hold Convicted Syrian Mercenary-Terrorists?

During the 44-day war in Artsakh, Syrian mercenaries-terrorists captured by the Armenian Armed Forces are serving their sentences under strict conditions in a high-security zone. This was reported by the Corrections Service of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia in response to a written inquiry from Sputnik Armenia. It was noted that there is no talk of extraditing them to Syria.

“There is no information regarding any requests made to transfer them to the Syrian Arab Republic to serve their sentences or to submit any pardon requests,” the response stated.

The Corrections Service also reported that an average of 12,900 drams is spent daily for each individual's detention, including all types of expenses. According to the information from the Department of Material and Technical Supply of the Corrections Service of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia, this is the amount spent on the maintenance of detained and convicted individuals in Armenian correctional facilities.

It is worth recalling that two Syrian mercenaries-terrorists were captured in Armenia in 2020. The first, Mehrad Muhammad al-Shakher, was captured on October 30, while the second, Youssef Alabed al-Haji, was taken prisoner by Armenian soldiers on November 1.

They provided testimony about the conditions under which they were recruited. Based on the combination of the evidence collected and assessed in the criminal case, it was established that Muhammad al-Shakher and Youssef Alabed al-Haji, not being citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, having not permanently resided in its territory, and not being part of the armed forces of Azerbaijan, were citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic who participated in the aggressive war unleashed by the political-military leadership of Azerbaijan starting from September 27, 2020, in exchange for material compensation while being part of an organized group.