BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 29. Armenian citizen Davit Manukyan has been arrested for terrorist crimes in Karabakh, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan told Trend.
The State Security Service continues its preliminary investigation related to numerous terrorist acts that resulted in the loss of lives, committed by illegal Armenian armed groups on the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan temporarily hosting Russian peacekeepers.
Substantial suspicion was established that Manukyan had committed criminal acts under articles 214.2.1, 214.2.2, 214.2.3 (repeated terrorism by an organized group), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, storage, and transportation of firearms, their component parts, ammunition, explosives, and devices), 279.3 (attack on enterprises, institutions, organizations, or individuals as part of armed formations or groups not provided for by law, resulting in loss of life or other grave consequences), and 318.1 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Despite Armenia's commitment in a trilateral statement dated November 10, 2020 [signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war], to withdraw Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan, Manukyan, having served in the highest military rank of major-general, continued to commit criminal actions on the territory of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the capacity of the so-called "first deputy commander of the defense army" of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic".
He was involved in the organization and leadership of illegal armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan, supplying them with weapons, ammunition, explosives, and devices. Simultaneously, he participated in organizing terrorist acts through these terrorist groups, accompanied by explosions, fires, and others, posing a threat to human lives, causing harm to their health, property, or other socially dangerous consequences, with the aim of undermining public security in Azerbaijan, creating panic among the population, influencing decisions by government authorities and international organizations.
On September 27, 2023, Manukyan was detained and charged, and the court decided to arrest him as a preventive measure. Investigative and operational measures in the criminal case are ongoing.
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In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, suppression of large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, localized anti-terrorist activities were carried out in the region.
Taking into account the appeal of the representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement], an agreement was reached on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT+4) to cease anti-terrorist activities of a local nature under the following conditions: the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan; Armenian illegal armed groups are dissolved.