Armenia indicts 18 servicemen for refusing to fight in 2020 Karabakh war

As many as 18 servicemen from the Armenian Armed Forces’ 3rd Army Corps have been charged for refusing to fight in the 44-day Second Karabakh War of 2020.

“In the days of the 44-day war, information was disseminated about cases when relatives of contractors blocked roads so that they would not go to fight in Karabakh. There were even rumours that relatives blocked the roads precisely at the request of those contractors, many of whom, according to various sources, were not fired after the war and continue to serve,” Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

Regarding these cases, the Armenian media addressed the Investigative Committee of Armenia on September 30, 2022, with a written request to find out how many such cases were recorded in the period from September 27 to November 9, 2020.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee responded to this request and reported that during the preliminary investigation, four persons were charged, one of them under Part 3 of Art. 38-364 (military aiding and inciting to refuse to serve in time of war) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and three under Part 3 of Art. 364 (refusal to perform military service in wartime) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, and they were ordered not to leave as a measure of restraint.

However, the Armenian media also became aware that another similar fact was recorded during the war. As a result, 18 servicemen were charged with the fact that, being servicemen of the military unit No. of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia, during the martial law declared by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No. occupying corps, “thus not fulfilling the corresponding order of the commander of the 3rd army corps of the RA Ministry of Defence”.