VIDEO: It is very unpleasant to read that during the war, the wives of senior officials were trading in certain cities

Has any assessment been made during these years and before regarding the proceedings of the 44-day war and the results in terms of prosecutorial oversight of all criminal cases? This question was raised by Seyran Ohanyan, the leader of the ‘Hayastan’ faction, to the Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan during a session of the National Assembly.

Vardapetyan stated that there are two proceedings regarding external aggression against Armenia related to the 44-day war, and a separate proceeding has been initiated based on international crimes related to forced displacement. These proceedings are not subject to public discussions.

“I want to emphasize that the 44-day war was the most serious lesson for me as a citizen of Armenia and then as Prosecutor General. From that lesson, we have drawn three important conclusions. Firstly, we are implementing serious personnel and professional processes within the military prosecutor’s office. We are increasing the number of military prosecutors and professionalizing it so that the military prosecutor's office does not serve certain processes but observes them through the eyes of an external observer,” said Vardapetyan.

According to her, not many criminal cases related to the 44-day war are covered or discussed to avoid impacting the combat readiness of the army.

“But I assure you that all cases related to the 44-day war concerning the failure of the command to fulfill their obligations are systematically sent to court, and those cases where the highest command is not at fault are filtered out so that the prosecutor does not even affirm the accusatory conclusion and does not allow that case to go to court. In this aspect, we are doing detailed work,” she noted.

Ohanyan responded by saying that there is a misunderstanding in our country that the military alone is responsible for the war, whereas all branches of power are accountable. His question pertained to the fulfillment of obligations by all branches of power during the war.

Vardapetyan added that indeed, the rear is very important, and in this regard, the prosecutor's office pays special attention to corruption crimes. “As the Prosecutor General, it is very unpleasant for me to read that, for instance, during the military operations, I read that the wives of senior officials were trading in certain cities. I consider this one of the main reasons for our defeat,” she stated.