25 april 2022

In Investigation Department of the RA NSS Preliminary Investigation on Separated Part of Criminal Case Initiated on Fact of Committing High Treason Completed

In Investigation Department of the RA NSS Preliminary Investigation on Separated Part of Criminal Case Initiated on Fact of Committing High Treason Completed

As a result of comprehensive and effective investigation conducted in the Investigation Department of the RA National Security Service, sufficient factual data were obtained that a group of former and present servicemen being recruited by representatives of foreign special services, having provided their written consent in this regard in a previously indicated place in a third country and having received an appropriate pseudonym, before the start of 44-day war, on the instructions of the representatives of foreign special services, they collected and, through mobile Internet applications or their personal pages registered on social networks, transmitted to the latter information  containing state and official secrets.

At the same time, some of the servicemen had accurate information about the specific day of the start of the war unleashed on 27 September, 2020, and while maintaining active communication with the representatives of foreign special services during this period, on the instructions of the latter, they collected and transmitted to them information constituting state and official secrets on the location of various military formations, armories, weapons, command post, headquarters, coordinates of various combat positions, armament, deployment and location of specific military equipment, armament of units that are part of military units, their locations, names, numbers of military units, former names, formations of military units, types of implementation of combat missions of military units, including photographs depicting their location. For treacherous actions, they periodically received sums of various amounts in cash or through bank transfers, both personally and in the names of various persons.

As a result of the commission of high treason by the mentioned citizens for a reward the opponent was given a real opportunity to make accurate calculations of forces and means, to determine the number, location, distribution of forces and means involved by it to perform tasks in various sectors and in the current conditions from the very first day of the resumption of the war 27 September 2020, the opponent delivered precise strikes with rocket-artillery weapons and UAVs at the headquarters, control systems of N military formations and N military units, places of permanent deployment of N military formations and N military units, warehouses of rocket-artillery weapons, individual air defense systems and other military and economic facilities, which led to numerous casualties and loss of weapons.

For the commission of the described criminal acts, based on the body of sufficient evidence obtained during the preliminary investigation, for committing high treason and facilitating it, criminal prosecutions were initiated against 42 persons, with regard to 24 of them, arrest was applied as a measure of restraint.

On 15 April, 2022, the criminal case against 8 persons was separated in a separate proceeding by the body conducting the proceedings, and in relation to them part of the criminal case with the indictment was sent to the prosecutor in charge of the procedural management of the preliminary investigation to approve the indictment and send the case to court for consideration on the merits.

The preliminary investigation continues, complex operative-search measures and investigative actions are being taken in the direction of establishing the full circle of persons involved in the espionage network, initiating criminal prosecution against them, as well as neutralizing the activities of foreign intelligence in the  Armed Forces.

Note: The suspect or accused of an alleged crime is considered innocent as long as his guilt is not proven in a manner prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure of RA - by the court decision entered into legal force.