Armenian officer accused of high treason

A top-ranking Armenian officer was collecting information about the armies of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and passing it on to Azerbaijan through the Embassy in Georgia. The officer is under arrest now.

On May 6, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia reported that in total, 1580 criminal cases were instituted with involvement of 628 defendants accused of crimes related to the autumn war for Nagorno-Karabakh, including a case on high treason.

According to the National Security Service of Armenia, the defendant was recruited by the Azerbaijani secret services in Georgia several years ago. The Armenian officer passed on to them the information about the armed forces, security systems of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a state secret, the international news agency “News Armenia” reports.

Moreover, according to the investigators’ version, together with his friend, the defendant purchased and imported into Armenia more than 200 communication helmets for tankers, which he sold to a foreign citizen for 7.5 million drams (about 14,300 US dollars). Furthermore, the officer illegally acquired, transported, and stored sniper rifles, machine guns, pistols, a grenade launcher, cartridges, and other weapons, the “Sputnik Armenia” reports.

In March, the Armenian parliament toughened criminal penalties for high treason and espionage. The new law provides for 12 to 20 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment for espionage and 15-20 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment for high treason, the “Aysor.Am” reports.