A plane carrying 10 Armenian captives landed in Yerevan on Dec. 5
Armenia’s Investigative Committee on Thursday filed criminal charges against five of the 10 Armenian prisoners of war who were captured during the November 16 attempt by Azerbaijan to invade Armenia and were released on Saturday.
The five soldiers have been charged with violating the rules for on-duty combat service that resulted in severe consequences, the Investigative Committee spokesperson Vardan Tadevosian told News.am.
The spokesperson also informed that the Investigative Committee is currently considering the motions for arrest, and the court hearings are in progress.
On December 4, through Russia’s mediation, Azerbaijan transferred to Armenia 10 Armenian soldiers who were captured during the fighting on Armenia’s southeastern border on November 16, two days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan fired defense minister Artak Gabrielyan following another botched attempt by Azerbaijan to invade Armenia.
The soldiers were transferred to Yerevan via a plane by former commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh, Deputy Commander of the Southern Military Okrug of the Russian Armed Forces, General Rustam Muradov.
On November 23, during an online press conference, Pashinyan announced that there would be criminal cases launched, stressing the need to clarify the circumstances of the capture of each soldier.
Pashinyan was criticized for publicly criticizing the capabilities of Armenia’s combat soldiers. Around the same time, Armenia’s Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan was caught on tape criticizing Armenian soldiers during a gathering with Armenian community representatives in Paris.