Five Injured in Burning Car: Martuni Resident Tells How Jalal Harutyunyan Was Rescued

During the war, Martuni resident Robert Asribabayan rescued Jalal Harutyunyan, the commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, after he was wounded.

In an interview with Tert.am, Asribabayan stated that initially they were unaware that Jalal Harutyunyan was in the damaged vehicle, and only realized it after helping the wounded. “At that moment, we didn’t even know Jalal Harutyunyan was in the car. My friend and I approached and there were injured people; we quickly started to provide assistance,” said the 63-year-old resident of Martuni.

“My friend and I saw from a distance that a car was on fire. We approached; it was a ‘UAZ’,” he noted, mentioning that they also called for help from his son and his friend's son. “They came with a car as well. We helped pull out five injured from the fire. We followed the ambulance, which came and took the injured to the hospital. At that moment, we didn’t know Jalal Harutyunyan was in the vehicle; we helped and later found out it was the minister,” he said.

When asked if the former minister’s weapon was with him, Robert Asribabayan replied, “I have a bulletproof vest and a weapon at my house, but I’m not sure if it belongs to the minister because he wasn’t the only injured, and that’s from one of the injured.” He added that he does not have any other details.

It is noteworthy that on October 27, the President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan relieved Jalal Harutyunyan from the position of Minister of Defense and Commander of the Defense Army, informing that he had been wounded. Yesterday, December 4, it was revealed that Harutyunyan has been discharged from the hospital but still needs to continue outpatient treatment.