YEREVAN. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The Armenian Special Investigation Service has charged the county's former chief military inspector Col. Gen. Movses Hakobyan of abuse of power.
"A criminal case was opened based on Part 2 of Article 308 of the Armenian Criminal Code based on the materials prepared after Hakobyan's press conference," the agency press service told reporters.
Part 2 of Article 308, which deals with abuse of office resulting by negligence in grave consequences, envisages punishment in the form of two to six years in prison with a ban on taking certain positions or engaging in certain activities for a period of up to three years.
Hakobyan, who resigned as Armenia's chief military inspector on November 18, said at a press conference on November 19 the Defense Ministry's information center had disseminated false information during the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and that the disintegration of the Armenian army had begun after Artak Davtyan was appointed chief of the Armed Forces General Staff.
Hakobyan also said the Armenian leadership's decision to send volunteers to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh was a crime, that mobilization had been 78% completed in Nagorno-Karabakh and 52% in Armenia, and that five Armenian regiments were made redundant in line with a secret decision.
The general also said the prime minister had made unjustified changed to the weapons procurement plan. "Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter aircraft and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems were purchased. None of these weapons fired a single shot during this war. We didn't need Su planes, and I had explained why earlier. These planes remain idle here without ammunition. A Russian government decision prohibits the sale of ammunition for these fighters to other countries," Hakobyan said.
As reported earlier, Prime Minister Pashinyan called Hakobyan's accusations unsubstantiated.