What Circumstances Led to the Death of the Deputy Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army? Son Addresses Scandalous Information about His Father's Death

On October 4, 400 police officers from various regions of Armenia were brought to Shushi, where they were supposed to head to the front line. Some only learned on the spot why they had been brought to Shushi and refused to go. They were informed that they needed to engage in service in residential areas.

They were gathered in the Shushi Cultural House for explanatory work, and it was during this assembly that the cultural house was shelled. Twenty-two police officers were killed, one went missing, and numerous questions arose about how the enemy seemed to know the exact moment to bomb the building while people were gathered inside. This information is reported by Hraparak.am.

“In connection with this incident, for which an investigation is being conducted, we recently discussed this matter, after which we received numerous calls. Both police officers and relatives of the military personnel present at the cultural house that day provided us with details about the incident, but none of them knew the current status of the criminal investigation, and none have been questioned,” the outlet reported.

Colonel Arthur Sargsyan's son, Aram Sargsyan, also reached out to us. Colonel Sargsyan died during military operations. To this day, rumors circulate that Colonel Arthur Sargsyan pressured the police officers to enter the cultural house and participate in that fateful meeting. He is accused of being responsible for the deaths of the police officers, at least according to the relatives of the deceased.

There are also scandalous rumors surrounding Arthur Sargsyan's death, suggesting he was shot for espionage. The relatives of the fallen police officers are convinced that Arthur Sargsyan was the initiator of the gathering at the Shushi Cultural House. Furthermore, they label him a traitor. However, Colonel Sargsyan’s son, Aram, denies this information. He stated that his father was indeed present at the cultural house on October 4, but he was not the one who initiated the meeting.

“My father chaired that meeting; he was on the very same stage where the enemy's strike occurred, and as a result of that strike, he sustained serious injuries. If he had deliberately organized that gathering, it is clear that he wouldn't have been at the hottest spot where the strike happened. He simply would not have been there. During the fighting, my father came to my unit for his affairs; he did not come to me personally but rather for some service-related matters. When he learned that four of us were remaining in our outpost, he personally ordered that those four or five people who were together be separated from one another. My father could not have summoned 400 people to one place. After being injured, he received treatment in Artsakh; the doctor forbade him from being on his feet, but due to his stubborn nature, he insisted, saying that young men were dying, and he couldn't just lie down, so he took a cane and went back into battle,” Aram Sargsyan says.

Regarding the scandalous claim that his father was shot, Aram insists it does not correspond to reality. “He died weeks after the incident in Shushi, on October 25, due to the explosion of the command bunker in Martuni-2.”

What kind of explanatory work was being carried out in Shushi? Why were the police officers gathered in one place when gathering together was prohibited? Aram Sargsyan does not have an answer to this question. “I do not know why they were gathered in one place; I cannot say. Special bodies should deal with that. There are more serious structures that should address who brought people there and for what,” the colonel's son asserts. However, he also notes that he does not believe there will be an impartial investigation regarding this incident. Even if one occurs, nothing will change for his family. “It may help us by ending the discussions around my father,” he said. Colonel Sargsyan was 45 years old and hailed from the town of Ejmiatsin in the Armavir Province. The family resides in Ejmiatsin.