Military at the crash site of the Russian Mi-24 helicopter (archive photo)
Moscow. 4 January. INTERFAX.RU – Russian military investigators have reclassified to a more serious article (premeditated murder) the criminal case on the death of a military helicopter Mi-24 on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, an informed source told Interfax on Monday.
“The criminal case, which was originally initiated under Article 351 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of flight rules or preparation for them, resulting in death by negligence) was re-qualified to a more serious article – part 2 of article 105 (intentional murder of two or more persons)”, – said the interlocutor of the agency.
He clarified that if in the first case a punishment is provided for up to seven years in prison, then in the second – up to life imprisonment. The source also noted that this decision was made based on the results of investigative and operational actions taken within the framework of the case.
“With all the apparent evidence of the crime, the investigators had to first initiate a criminal case under the article under which such incidents are usually investigated. And then they collect materials for a more accurate qualification of the act, which was done,” the agency's interlocutor explained.
He found it difficult to say how long the investigation would take. “There are certain difficulties associated with the fact that the suspects are on the territory of another state,” the source said. According to him, the case is being investigated by military investigators based at the Russian base in Gyumri (Armenia).
Mi-24 incident
As the representative of the RF Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov stated earlier, the Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down on the evening of November 9 last year in the airspace of Armenia, outside the combat zone. It was reported that two Russian servicemen were killed and another was wounded.
The incident occurred at about 18:30 (17:30 Moscow time). The helicopter accompanied the convoy of the 102nd Russian military base through the territory of Armenia in the airspace near the Armenian settlement of Yeraskh near the border of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (Azerbaijan), the Russian Defense Ministry noted.
In the evening of the same day – November 9 – a trilateral statement of the leaders of the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan and Armenia on a ceasefire in the zone of the Karabakh conflict was signed.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the Mi-24 was accidentally shot down by the Azerbaijani military over the territory of Armenia. “The Azerbaijani side apologizes to the Russian side in connection with this tragic incident, which is of the nature of an accident and was not directed against the Russian side,” the Foreign Ministry said. The Azerbaijani side announced its readiness to pay appropriate compensation.
