YEREVAN. – The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia has exposed a case of high treason committed by an organized group. Armenian News-NEWS.am was informed about this from the NSS press center.

In particular, it was found that a former Armenian serviceman—who was awarded medals, badges, honor certificates, and government awards—had gone to Turkey with another person who is friends with him—and is also an Armenian citizen—under the pretext of looking for a job, but appeared there in the sight of Azerbaijani special services, and accepted their offer to be recruited by them in exchange for receiving material benefits to the detriment of Armenia's territorial integrity and external security.

Since then, the above-mentioned persons received respective instructions from the Azerbaijani special services.

These men then left Turkey for another country—and accompanied by Azerbaijani special services—to meet with senior Azerbaijani special services officials to document the aforesaid verbal agreement and receive specific instructions.

At the Azerbaijani embassy in this third country, the mentioned persons signed recruitment agreements, giving their signatures and consent to cross over to the side of the enemy and act to the detriment of Armenia, after which they received respective code names and prepayments from Azerbaijani special services.

Afterwards, the mentioned persons regularly kept in touch with the Azerbaijani special services, received specific instructions from them, within the framework of which they photographed and videotaped the military units of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, objects of state and strategic importance, which were then sent to the Azerbaijani special services via mobile applications.

Then on September 27, 2020—and to carry out the new assignments given by the Azerbaijani special services—one of the members of this organized group left for the battlefield at the Hadrut region of Artsakh as an Armenian volunteer detachment commander under the pretext of taking part in the hostilities against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), but continued to collect information and pass it on to the Azerbaijani special services until the end of October of the same year.

Also, another member of this organized group took photos—with the same intent—of one of the Armenian air defense missile systems located in the deep rear and passed that information, as a result of which he enabled the adversary to attack this target and destroy it.

Two members of this organized group have been included as defendants in the criminal case into the above-mentioned criminal acts, testified, and were remanded in custody.

Also, special communications equipment for troops, cell phones, videos about videotaping of training exercises, as well as other items relevant to the criminal case were found and confiscated in the apartments or auxiliary buildings of these defendants.