The Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office says preliminary data have been obtained on the recruitment and use of mercenaries, members of various terrorist groups by Azerbaijan from the very first day of the war against the Republic of Artsakh.
The latter carried out international terrorism in order to destabilize the internal situation of a foreign country by organizing and carrying out actions such as explosions, arson and other similar actions, killing people, destroying buildings, structures, roads, means of transport and communication or other property.
On that basis, according to the materials obtained on October 12, 2020, a criminal case was initiated under Article 389 of the RA Criminal Code and attached to the criminal case initiated on the case of unleashing an aggressive war against the Republic of Artsakh.
During the preliminary investigation, on suspicion of committing crimes under Article 389, Article 390, Part 1, Point 1 and Part 3, Points 1 and 2, Article 395, Part 3 of the RA Criminal Code, mercenaries Muhhrab Muhammad Al Shkher and Yusef Alabet Al Haji (both citizens of Syria) participating in the aggressive war unleashed by the Republic of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh were arrested on October 31, 2020 by the body conducting the proceedings.
In the course of the preliminary investigation, factual information was obtained about the participation of a number of other mercenaries in the actions unleashed by the military-political leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in particular Ahmad Al-Tayebi /35 years old, citizen of the Syrian Arab Republic, residence of Reyhany, Turkey/, Abu Stef Al-Hindavi /35 years old/, about Abu Diab Halabi / 30 years old /.
Decisions were made by the body conducting the proceedings on the involvement of the above- mentioned persons in a criminal case under Article 389, Article 390, Part 3, Point 1, Article 395, Part 3 of the RA Criminal Code and detention was chosen as a preventive measure against the latter and they were declared wanted.
During the further preliminary investigation and in the result of operative-investigative measures undertaken, as well as urgent investigative and other judicial actions, factual data was obtained on the leader of the international terroristic group called “Sultan Suleyman Shah”, Muhammad Al-Jasimin, titled “Abu Hamsha”, Arab national /born in 1985/ who recruited more than two thousands mercenaries in the Syrian Arab Republic and transported them to Azerbaijan for participation in the war against the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, including for leading operations in place.
Based on the above, a decision was made օn November 8, 2020 to initiate a criminal case against Muhammad Al-Jasimi under Article 38-389, Article 390, Part 3, Points 1 and 2, Article 395, Part 3, Points 1 and 3 of the RA Criminal Code. Detention was chosen as a preventive measure against the latter, he was declared wanted. The preliminary investigation is underway.
Objective evidence prove the presence of extremist terrorists and mercenaries, members of international terrorist groups throughout the war in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, their active participation in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and war crimes against the people of Artsakh. After the adoption of a joint trilateral statement on cessation of military actions by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, there is no information about their withdrawal from the conflict zone.
Moreover, according to the published information, measures are being undertaken to move terroristic groups and mercenaries from the northern part of the Syrian Arab Republic to the territories occupied by Azerbaijan. If this information is true, it may be assessed as a step aimed at concentrating terrorist groups in the region, thereby increasing the threats against the population of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, as well as against the security, stability and relative peace of all countries in the region.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia reaffirms its readiness to expand cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral forms in order to prevent new terrorist acts and establishment of new terrorist centers in the region, as well as it tries to detect such attempts and identify the persons involved in them to make them liable.
