On 09.10.2021 at around 13:20 on arable land located in the administrative territory of Martakert community, while working with agricultural equipment, Aram Tepnants, a resident of Martakert / born in 1966 / was wounded in the area of chest from an Azerbaijani position about a kilometer away and died on the spot.
Before the start of agricultural work, given the proximity of the area to the territory controlled by Azerbaijan, Russian peacekeepers arrived at the spot through the mediation of representatives of the Martakert city community and the Defense Army to ensure the safety of the work. According to preliminary information, the driver initially avoided driving agricultural equipment, but one of the peacekeepers offered to sit in his cab as an additional guarantee of safety. According to eyewitnesses, they made several turns.
On the same day, a criminal case was initiated under Point 14 of Part 2 of Art. 103 of the Criminal Code of Artsakh (murder committed on the basis of national, racial or religious hatred or religious fanaticism). An investigation is underway.
After the incident, agricultural work was stopped not only on this, but also on other parts of the border.
Taking into account the agreement reached between the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the prompt exchange of information on criminal cases registered on the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, the data available on the case of the murder of a civilian by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan were given to the representatives of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation in Artsakh and with them prompt and effective cooperation is ensured. Full readiness was expressed to be involved in all possible aspects of the investigation of the case, the necessity of which the RA Prosecutor General has repeatedly noted.
This case is a gross violation of the provisions of the trilateral statement on the ceasefire signed by the leaders of the RA, RF and AR on November 9, 2020.
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia will be consistent in fulfilling the agreements reached that, by ensuring fair criminal liability of the perpetrators within the framework of this and other similar cases, it is possible to create stable guarantees to exclude such tragic events, to bring the perpetrators to justice with all the ensuing legal consequences.
