“It’s time for us to properly investigate each case of captivity. Every person serving in the RA Armed Forces has responsibilities. Maybe we did something wrong here, also on an emotional background. It must be examined what it means to be taken prisoner, under what circumstances,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the NA-Government questions-and-answers session.
The Adviser to the Prosecutor General Gor Abrahamyan asked a question on his Facebook page, “Does anyone mind that the case of the capture of every soldier and every civilian of the Republic of Armenia should become a subject of investigation? Why should making it the subject of an investigation be equated with “washing our hands” of the prisoners and declaring them enemies? What kind of primitivism and manipulation is this?”
In a conversation with Aravot, Siranush Sahakyan, a lawyer representing the interests of Armenian captives in the European Court, said that it is natural to initiate cases and make them a subject of investigation, because the Criminal Code stipulates the punishment for voluntary captivity. “It is a war crime and, of course, has as much public danger as desertion, failure to carry out orders, and so on. Indeed, all repatriated captives have been questioned about the circumstances of their captivity, but we do not know of any cases in which the captive was charged with voluntary captivity. From this point of view, the investigation has taken place in the past, and is currently underway, and I think it will be carried out in connection with all future cases. It is another matter how justified it was at this stage in terms of public perception to make such a statement, especially when the previously investigated cases did not establish such features.
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We do not rule out the possibility of such a crime, but it would be desirable to talk about it when the investigation had enough time to examine all the circumstances, and if the incident was confirmed by evidence, then it would be made public. In this case, even the Azerbaijani side can allow abuses. For example, they have previously informed the captives that your state is not interested in you and it does not make efforts to receive or repatriate you. And now imagine how the statement of the Prime Minister can be used and can even threaten the captives to refuse to return to Armenia, as they will face criminal prosecution. That is why I do not consider it expedient to make such a statement at this stage. The statement also hurt the families of the captives and their relatives. It is another matter that I consider it lawful for the law enforcement agencies to investigate and find out whether there are any features of voluntary captivity.”
When we clarified about if they quietly initiated a criminal case, investigated, revealed, and spread a message about it, it was a different matter, but at this stage the statement by the Prime Minister in such a tone can cause harm, Siranush Sahakyan answered, “Yes, it is inadmissible, especially considering the fact that to date, they have not brought any charges against them, that is, they do not have a proven case. Only a few days have passed since the events of November 16 and the investigation could not answer all the questions.
If that hypothesis has not yet been fully verified, there is no excuse for it to be made public and to cause further concern and suffering to family members.” Sahakyan said that the relatives and parents of the prisoners are very sensitive to such statements. “Family members who go through that tortuous path are also threatened or their image is degraded in the eyes of society. To do this, there must be serious grounds and test results. I consider such statements at a high level without such results inadmissible.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
