Azerbaijan completes probe into Armenian sabotage group's border violation case

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has completed its investigation into a criminal case involving an Armenia Armed Forces subversive group that crossed Azerbaijan's state border through the liberated Zangilan district's Razdara village on May 26.

At approximately 19:00 on May 26, 2023, reasonable suspicions were established by the investigation that Armenian servicemen Ovagimyan Arutyun Yurikovich and Kazaryan Karen Ashotovich, who are Armenian citizens, in collaboration with other individuals as a premeditated group, threatened to commit a terrorist act on Azerbaijani territory, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Prosecutor General’s Office press service.

"They were smuggling firearms and ammunition to the Razdara village as a premeditated group, having illegally crossed the guarded state border of Azerbaijan. They acquired firearms and ammunition illegally and used force against the servicemen serving at the Zangilan border post. For this purpose, they opened fire on the military personnel of o Azerbaijani military unit located in Razdara, which guards the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan," the statement said.

During the investigation, it was also determined that when the named members of the Armenian sabotage group, who tried to escape after being resolutely prevented from their attacks by the military personnel of our army, were detained, Ovagimyan Arutyun Yurikovich had one "Kalashnikov" model firearm, which was the instrument of the crime and one magazine with 10 combat rounds of ammunition with a calibre of 5.45 mm was taken.

Ovagimyan Arutyun, Yurikovich and Kazaryan Karen Ashotovich are charged with articles 206.3.2 (smuggling of firearms and ammunition by a group of persons with prior collusion), 214.2.1, 214.2.3 (terrorism, use of firearms by a group of persons with prior collusion) when committed by doing so), 228.2.1 (illegal acquisition, transportation, storage of firearms by a group of persons who colluded in advance), 283.2.1 (doing actions clearly aimed at inciting national enmity by force) and 318.2 (collusion in advance) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Upon presenting the final charges, the criminal case was referred to court on June 21, 2023.