BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 29
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Another trial on the case of 14 members of the Armenian armed group who committed terrorist acts of sabotage and other crimes in Azerbaijan was held at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes on June 29, Trend reports.
The trial was chaired by Judge Afgan Hajiyev.
While giving testimony at the trial, a member of the group Edgar Matesyan said that when the war (Second Karabakh war from late Sept. to early Nov.2020) began, he was called up by the Armenian military commissariat.
"I was told that if I do not come, I will be imprisoned from eight years to 12 years," Matesyan added.
Another member of the group Albert Petrosyan said that after the arrest by the Azerbaijani servicemen, no pressure was exerted on them.
“They treated us humanly, gave us water and cigarettes,” he noted.
The accused Gor Gasparyan told the investigation that members of the Armenian terrorist group were in Hadrut village in order to prevent the advancement of Azerbaijani servicemen to the territory.
"We were ordered to provide armed resistance to those who come from the Azerbaijani side," Gasparyan said.
After the detainees gave their testimonies, the next hearing, in this case, was appointed for July 2.
The preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated by the Main Investigation Department of the Azerbaijani State Security Service against the members of the Armenian armed formations disarmed as a result of the anti-terrorist operation of the State Security Service on December 13, 2020, and who committed terrorist-subversive and other criminal actions on the Azerbaijani territory, has been completed.
The investigative bodies revealed that a group of Armenians, illegally acquiring weapons, components for the weapons, ammunition, explosives, and devices, created armed formations not envisaged by the law.
The members of these armed formations illegally crossed the state border of Azerbaijan on the night of November 26 through 27, 2020 as an organized group, took up the combat positions in the forest and other areas in the northwestern part of the Hadrut settlement of Khojavand district.
Those individuals attacked enterprises, institutions, and organizations, as well as individuals, organized explosions, fires and carried out other terrorist actions that pose a threat to the life and health of people up until December 13, 2020, which may cause big damage to the property or lead to other socially dangerous consequences to violating public safety, sowing panic among the population or influencing the decision-making by the state authorities of Azerbaijan or international organizations.
In connection with the above-mentioned facts, members of the illegal armed group Hrach Avakyan, Gegam Serobyan Samvelovich and others, in total 14 people, were accused upon Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3 (terrorism committed by a group of people upon prior conspiracy by an organized group or criminal association (criminal organization) by using firearms and items used as weapons), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, components for weapons, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices by an organized group), 279.2 (an attack on enterprises, institutions, organizations or individuals as part of armed formations or groups not envisaged by the law) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan by a group of people upon prior conspiracy or by an organized group) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The criminal case together with the indictment approved by the deputy prosecutor general of Azerbaijan was sent for consideration to the court.
