Ex-Artsakh official found guilty of espionage

ArmInfo. Former Artsakh official Sargis Galstyan, who was accused of espionage and moved to  Armenia after spending almost six months in Stepanakert, has been found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Journalist David Grigoryan reported this on his Facebook page.  

"The court decision was recently published by the Court of General Jurisdiction of the  Syunik region, which found Galstyan guilty of espionage. The public  prosecutor in his speech requested life imprisonment for Galstyan,"  the journalist noted.

According to the indictment, Galstyan was recruited by foreign  intelligence and has been engaged in espionage since 2020. He went by  the nickname "Sarkhan", and between 2020 and 2023, he provided a  foreign intelligence officer with information about the  socio-economic situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the mood of the  population, attitudes towards military actions and potential support  for Armenia during the September war.

As the journalist mentioned, Galstyan held various positions in  Nagorno-Karabakh from 2018 to 2023. He was the deputy head of the  Shushi administrative district, deputy head of the Ministry of  Education, and later served as the deputy head of the Artsakh  presidential administration.