Relatives of perished militaries unhappy with Armenian GPO's answer to their demands

The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Armenia has agreed to treat the parents of the militaries who perished during the 2020 autumn war as victims within a criminal case, but did not agree to prosecute Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister. Victims' relatives have demanded to accelerate Pashinyan's prosecution.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 13, Nikol Pashinyan stated at parliament that he could have avoided casualties in the 2020 autumn war by surrendering territories. On April 26, 2022, victims' relatives held a rally demanding to hold Pashinyan accountable for the casualties. On April 18, they appealed to the Armenian GPO with a demand to open a criminal case and investigate Pashinyan's statements.

The GPO has satisfied one of the two demands of the parents of the militaries who perished in the 2020 autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh, namely, agreed to treat parents as victims within a criminal case. The demand to attract the Premier Pashinyan as a case figurant has been sent to the Anti-Corruption Committee for making a decision, Gor Abraamyan, an adviser to the GPO head, told the parents of the fallen soldiers. According to his story, the law provides for five days for the Committee to make its decision.

The GPO's statement has sparked parents' dissatisfaction; they accused the GPO of deliberately protracting the inquiry. At the action held on April 27, Gegam Nazaryan, an MP from the "Aiastan" faction, stated that the GPO should make a decision as soon as possible to bring Pashinyan to criminal liability; Mr Nazaryan lost his son in the 2020 autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh. In his opinion, 48 hours is enough to make a decision.

Arsen Gazaryan, the father of a perished soldier, has noted that within five days Pashinyan will be able to leave the country, and could no longer be held accountable. In Gazaryan's opinion, there are no guarantees that such a scenario is excluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 27, 2022 at 08:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.