Gurgen Alaverdyan Charged under Five Articles of Azerbaijan's Criminal Code

Baku / 25.08.20 / Turan: Gurgen Alaverdyan, detained while preventing the penetration of a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces, is charged under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, under which he faces life imprisonment.

As stated in a joint report by the State Security Service and the Prosecutor General's Office, on August 23 at about 06.00, the commander of a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces, senior lieutenant Gurgen Alaverdyan, born in 1989, was detained as a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani army in the direction of the Goranboy region.

In the course of the investigation, the message goes on to say, there were reasonable suspicions that Alaverdyan, "participating in illegal armed groups created on the territory of the occupied Kalbajar region, carried out attacks on military personnel, enterprises, departments, organizations and individuals of the Republic of Azerbaijan." 

In addition, Alaverdyan is charged with committing actions aimed at killing people, causing harm to their health, causing significant property damage, and illegal arms trafficking.

Alaverdyan, on the instructions of the Armenian special services, illegally crossed the state border to collect information constituting a state secret of Azerbaijan in order to use it to the detriment of the security of our country.

In connection with the above, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan has launched a criminal case under Art. 100.2 (waging an aggressive war), 276 (espionage), 279.1 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by law), 228.1 (illegal acquisition, transfer, storage, transportation and carrying of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices) and 318.1 (illegal state border crossing) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

For a comprehensive, complete and objective conduct of the preliminary investigation, a joint investigative-operational group was created, consisting of professional employees of the Prosecutor General's Office, the State Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Border Service.

The investigation is being conducted by the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.

According to the specified articles of the Criminal Code, Alaverdyan faces long prison terms up to life imprisonment.      -06B-