Criminal case involving commanders in 44-day war sent to court 

ArmInfo.  The prosecutor sent a criminal case related to the 44-day war against the commanders of the military unit and battalions to court with an approved indictment, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

According to the information, as a result of the consideration of the  criminal case by the Investigative Committee, it was established that  the commander of the military unit <N>, Colonel A.O., showed a  negligent attitude towards the performance of his official duties  from October 6 to 7, 2020, performed them improperly, which  inadvertently led to grave consequences.

In particular, on October 6, 2020, A.O., having received an order  from the Commander of the Defense Army to begin an offensive on the  western outskirts of Horadiz in the direction of Lyalya-Ilyag  (Leletepe) and restore the broken line, did not comply with the  requirements of legal acts establishing the procedure for carrying  out combat service during preparatory work on the same day and the  counteroffensive on October 7, 2020.

Due to the unit commander's failure to comply with the order of  combat operations, ineffective leadership, failure to ensure  interaction between subordinate units, violation of the order of the  march, uneven distribution of forces and resources, failure to plan  further actions upon meeting the enemy, as well as after entering the  battle, the units operating under his command reached the starting  point specified in the order and advanced to the place of execution  of the task both at the appointed time and with an incomparably small  amount of combat equipment and personnel, without completing the  assigned combat mission.

During the same investigations, it was established that the battalion  commander of the N-th military unit, Lieutenant Colonel G.A., being  included in the counterattack carried out by the forces of the  military unit on October 7, 2020 with the personnel of the  subordinate battalion, was obliged to launch an attack together with  the unit, including in the direction of Lyalya-Ilyag, the western  slope of Mount Horadiz, but under the pretext of calculating the  losses of available weapons and ammunition, with the intention of not  taking an active part in the hostilities, he refused to further carry  out the combat mission.

G.A. ordered the battalion personnel to deviate from the designated  route, rejected offers to establish contact with higher command, and  then, without permission from the senior commander, ordered the  entire battalion personnel to turn around and return without  continuing the counterattack. During the same investigation, it was  established that the battalion commander of military unit <N>,  Lieutenant Colonel G.M., being included in the counterattack carried  out by the forces of the military unit on October 7, 2020, was  obliged to launch an attack together with the unit in the direction  of the western outskirts of Mount Horadiz, Lyalya-Ilyag and other  directions.

However, G.M., having overturned the tank into an anti-tank ditch and  then exited the tank unharmed, handed over the crew subordinate to  him - the driver and gunner-operator - to the infantry located in the  adjacent area, and he himself, taking advantage of the tank's  overturning, with the intention of not taking an active part in the  counterattack being carried out, and therefore, to evade possible  combat operations, remained in this area and did not take any  measures to restore the disrupted control and coordination of further  actions of the subordinate crew, effectively refusing to further  perform the combat mission.

The prosecutor initiated a public criminal prosecution against A.O.  under Part 3 of Article 376 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of  Armenia, adopted on 18.04.2003 (negligent treatment during martial  law), and against G.A. and G.M. under Part 3 of Article 364 (evasion  of military service during martial law).