BREAKING: Pashinyan’s government has filed criminal charges against decorated military officer Edik Maloyan, accusing the former deputy regiment commander of the Artsakh Defense Army of disclosing state secrets.
A veteran of both the 2020 Artsakh War and the April 2016 Four-Day War, Maloyan was awarded the First Class Combat Cross for his service during the 2020 war and is also known for his role in the fighting in the Lele Tepe direction during the 2016 war.
Maloyan was detained on July 2 during a search of his home in the town of Talin. Armenia’s Investigative Committee initially confirmed only that he had been taken into custody, declining to comment on the reason for his detention. Hours later, the committee announced that he had been charged with allegedly disclosing information containing state secrets.
The same charges have also been filed against an officer responsible for classified information at an Armenian Defense Ministry military unit. The Investigative Committee has not disclosed what information was allegedly leaked, when the alleged offense took place, or released any evidence publicly supporting the accusations.
Maloyan’s arrest comes amid a broader wave of criminal cases involving members, candidates, and supporters of the Strong Armenia Alliance. Opposition figures have repeatedly described the investigations as politically motivated, while authorities maintain the cases are based on alleged criminal offenses.
The charges have drawn condemnation from opposition figures. Narek Karapetyan, the lead candidate of the Strong Armenia Alliance, praised Maloyan’s military record and accused the government of politically targeting one of Armenia’s decorated military officers.
“It was Edik Maloyan who recaptured the position of Abajyan and Urfanyan. He is a recipient of the First Class Combat Cross.
After the 2020 war, during the border delimitation process, when an Azerbaijani commander treated one of our soldiers disrespectfully, Maloyan beat the Azerbaijani commander in front of everyone. For that, he was removed from the army by the Armenian military command.
Today, he has been arrested for wanting to live in a Strong Armenia.
I am proud that men like him stand beside us, and we will stand beside them,” Karapetyan wrote.
The Investigative Committee has not released any additional details about the case, and the specific information Maloyan is accused of disclosing has not been made public.
