15 Criminal Cases Filed Regarding Acts Against the Territorial Integrity of Armenia

Between 2021 and 2022, around 15 criminal cases were initiated for crimes committed against the territorial integrity of Armenia, with no individuals currently facing criminal prosecution or holding the status of defendants. This information was obtained by 'Factinfo' from a response to an inquiry sent to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia.

Specifically, 'Factinfo' submitted a written inquiry to the Office of the Prosecutor General to clarify what decision was made regarding the preparation of materials concerning the incident of transferring territories to Azerbaijan in the Syunik region in 2020, without following the legally established processes of border delimitation and demarcation. They inquired whether there is a decision to refuse the initiation of criminal proceedings regarding the actions against Armenia's territorial integrity, if so, when that decision was made and on what basis. If a decision was made to initiate criminal proceedings, they sought to know when this decision was taken, on what grounds, the current stage of the case, and whether any individual has been charged.

In response to the initial inquiry, the Prosecutor General's Office stated that on April 25, 2022, in the military service against particularly serious crimes unit of the Military Prosecutor’s Office, a criminal case was initiated based on Article 329, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, which pertains to the illegal crossing of the state border by a group of persons acting in pre-agreement. This case is currently at the preliminary investigation stage.

The Prosecutor’s Office assured that no decisions have been made to refuse the initiation of criminal proceedings regarding acts against the territorial integrity of Armenia and confirmed that the aforementioned criminal cases had been initiated accordingly.