New details concerning the spy scandal in Azerbaijan have surfaced. A former serviceman of Azerbaijan’s army has revealed that a shepherd and his herd were involved in an investigation, during which hundreds of people in Azerbaijan were interrogated, while some of them were even charged with high treason.

In May 2017, the Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies reported on the arrest of a group of soldiers and civilians suspected of transferring classified military information to Armenia. In a joint statement, the country’s attorney general, the ministry of defense and the ministry of internal affairs said that a “preliminary investigation” had been initiated in the treason case against the arrested person.

According to the serviceman, around 400 Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians, including shepherds and prostitutes, were interrogate or arrested for allegedly conspiring with the Armenian intelligence services.

They were further accused of receiving money for the transfer of classified military information, which jeopardized the security of the country.

The shepherd was reportedly detained by border Azerbaijani guards but was later released by the commander of the post who took one of the shepherd’s sheep instead.

The soldiers began to argue with the commander, as according to them, Armenian troops could see in which direction the sheep would go and thus find out that there are no landmines in that area. They told the commander that he was endangering all the soldiers.

Accusations of cooperation with the enemy were reported to one of the commanders in a neighboring military unit, and an investigation was soon launched, which significantly expanded, as hundreds of servicemen and civilians were detained and questioned. Some were released, others are still awaiting trial on charges of treason.