Hetq law enforcement sources say six of the ten Armenian soldiers that Azerbaijan returned on December 4 have been criminally charged with “violating combat duty regulations.” (Criminal Code – Article 365).

Armenia’s Investigative Committee has not yet provided any details on the matter.

The ten Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner on November 16, 2021, along the eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, after Azerbaijani   troops targeted Armenian military positions with artillery fire.

Russian mediated the return of the ten in exchange for Armenian minefield maps.

The Armenian Defense Ministry reported that six servicemen were killed, thirteen captured and eighteen unaccounted for.

Armenian government officials, notably National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan, have been widely criticized for labelling many Armenian POWs as “deserters” who must be prosecuted.

Simonyan was caught on a video secretly filmed as he spoke with French-Armenians during a recent visit to Paris saying many Armenian POWs “laid down their weapons and ran away.” 

Simonyan, a close political ally of PM Nikol Pashinyan, didn’t back down from his statement when he spoke with journalists on December 7.

“Unfortunately, there are soldiers and officers who did not perform their duty and were taken prisoner,” he said.