Criminal case initiated against two Armenian saboteurs detained in Azerbaijan

A criminal case has been initiated against two Armenian saboteurs detained in Azerbaijan, Report informs, citing the joint information of the Prosecutor General's Office and the State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

On May 26, the violation of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the subversive group of the Armed Forces of Armenia in the part of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border passing through Razdara village of Zangilan district was prevented.

Thus, as a result of the vigilance of our military personnel serving at the border military post, the movement of the subversive group was detected in time and the necessary measures were taken, resulting in the detention of two members of the Armed Forces of Armenia.

During the investigation conducted by the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan, reasonable suspicions have been revealed that military servicemen of the Republic of Armenia - Harut Yuriki Hovakimyan, Karen Ashoti Ghazarian and others threatened to use force and commit a terrorist act, by forming a group with a prior collusion and on May 26, 2023, at around 4 p.m., illegally crossed the protected state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan by illegally passing through checkpoints and customs borders with the firearms and ammunition they have carried with them.

By doing that, they violated public security in the Republic of Azerbaijan, caused panic among the population in order to impact the state authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan to make decisions against the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and to create national animosity by killing, harming people's health, and causing significant property damage, and for this purpose they caused violence by opening fire against the military personnel of the “N” military base of the Border Troops of the State Border Service located in the territory of Razdara village of Zangilan district and guarding the state border.

In connection with the abovementioned, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan has initiated a criminal case under articles 206.3.2 (smuggling of firearms and ammunition by a group of persons who colluded in advance), 214.2.1, 214.2.3 (terrorism, using firearms by a group of persons who colluded in advance), 228.2.1 (illegal acquisition, transportation, storage of firearms by a group of persons who colluded in advance), 283.2.1 (doing actions clearly aimed at inciting national enmity by force) and 318.2 (illegally crossing the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan by using force by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code and the preliminary investigation was entrusted to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Harut Hovakimyan and Karen Ghazaryan were detained as suspects and implicated in the investigation based on the gathered evidence.

Currently, the necessary investigative measures in the criminal case are ongoing.

The investigation’s progress and findings will be made public.