Criminal proceedings instituted against Armenians who formed illegal association in Azerbaijan

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan, together with relevant government agencies, continues to take necessary measures to once again expose the aggressive nature of the Republic of Armenia at the international level.
Vladimir Vartanov, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, and others by involving citizens of other countries with different nationalities, created the armed association "VoMa" ("Voxj Mnalu Arvest" - The Art of Survival) consisting of such persons, which is not provided by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Holding training for members of the association for terrorism, they committed terrorist acts in the Republic of Azerbaijan's occupied territories as part of that armed association. Based on materials received from the State Security Service (SSS) on these and other criminal acts, an investigation was conducted by the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.

The investigation found that, in 2014, Vladimir Vartanov and others established a militarized organization called "VoMa" in the territory of the Republic of Armenia to commit terrorist acts against the Republic of Azerbaijan and its citizens. Using Internet resources, they recruited citizens of foreign countries of Armenian descent and members of Asala, PKK, and other terrorist organizations to join "VoMa." They organized their participation in military exercises and united as a criminal association within the "Mountain Rifle Reserve Battalion" ("VoMA Battalion").

It was also established that the above persons entered Khankendi city and other occupied settlements, illegally crossing the internationally recognized state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan without specified documents and outside the checkpoints of the state border, i.e., through the territory of Armenia. To support the so-called illegal regime of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic", they were used as mercenaries by the Armenian political-military leadership against the civilians of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the armed forces engaged in anti-terrorist operations.

Also, members of the organization with special cruelty and in common dangerous ways, with the intention of national hostility and terrorism, committed numerous crimes against civilians not participating in military operations in different regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan by opening fire with the use of ammunition and military equipment. Explosions, fires, or other acts jeopardizing public order were committed. It was revealed that they were involved in terrorist activities against Azerbaijani citizens by threatening to commit acts for the above purposes.

Concerning the facts mentioned above, criminal proceedings were launched by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan under Article 100.2 (planning, preparation, implementation or conducting aggressive war), Article 120.2.1 (deliberate murder committed by a criminal organization), Article 279.3 (establishment of armed associations not provided by law), Article 318.2 (illegal crossing the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and other articles of the Criminal Code. The investigation was entrusted to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.

Given that the involvement of mercenaries and terrorists in the occupying army of the Republic of Armenia, which supported terrorism at the state level and turned terrorism into one of the main tools of its aggressive policy, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan urges international organizations to take all necessary measures and impose sanctions against the occupier country.