Hamlet and Some of the Boys Were Found in Boots and Military Cloaks: What the Father of the Fallen Soldier Reveals

The father of 19-year-old Hamlet Davtyan, who died in a tragic fire that broke out in the barracks of the engineering unit stationed in the village of Azat, Gegharkunik region, on January 19, does not believe the official version that the fire was caused by the captain's negligence while filling a 5-liter gasoline container into the stove.

"I believe that they killed the children. It was intentional. I don’t know why or by whom, but if I find out, I will kill them with my own hands. My relatives who went to the morgue saw that Hamlet and some of the boys had their boots and military cloaks on. How tired could they have been to all lay down to sleep without taking off their clothes at once? At least a few of them should have stayed awake. Did they all come and just go to sleep at once? Perhaps they were poisoned and then burned to cover up the traces. If a needle goes into your finger, don’t you feel pain? Then how could the fire have reached the boys without one waking up? This is an orchestrated act; they lie every day, but they can’t lie anymore. On the day of the wake, several officials from the Ministry of Defense came, my brothers asked questions, and they couldn’t answer, saying: 'we are investigating,' and left. The Prime Minister has already confirmed it; what else could they say?" said Hamlet's father, Spartak Davtyan, in an interview with News.am.

Hamlet had established contact with his family for the last time one day before the incident, on January 18. He spoke with his cousin Davit.

"In a few days, my dear brother was supposed to have a feast in the army, and I asked if he could attend, and he said, 'Wait, let’s see what comes to our heads.' It was as if he sensed something; he had been sad for the last few days. The day before, they had also collected their phones," said Davit Davtyan.

Both Hamlet’s father and his cousin mention that Hamlet had very friendly relationships with his comrades, and there had been no problems. The family did not enter the barracks during their visit, but they knew that the boys were deprived of basic conditions. During the visit, Hamlet's father did not see the captain, whose negligence is allegedly cited as the cause of the tragedy according to the official version.

"No one spoke to us about the captain. He did not complain about the boys; he loved them. They were in poor conditions; they brought water from outside to shower. They had no gas, and they heated with a stove for which they gathered and cut wood themselves," noted Davit.

Hamlet's father believes that if the barracks did not have bars on the windows, the boys might have been able to break the glass with their hands, and at least some could have been saved.

"After the battles in September, when my son's military unit was blown up, they had moved into this barracks, but it was not a barracks; it was a barn. The boys did everything together for their living conditions there," said Hamlet's father.

Hamlet’s mother, Lusine, passed away in 2018, and his older sisters are married. Now only Hamlet’s 52-year-old father remains alone in their home in Martuni city, to which he had tied many hopes for his son’s return.

"My son was a very modest, kind, and bright boy. His goal was simply to live, to continue life. I pictured my son coming back, studying, becoming a good programmer, falling in love, getting married, and raising my grandchildren. And now there’s nothing left in my house; it’s empty. My house has collapsed. If you stab me in the heart now, no blood will come out..." said Spartak Davtyan.

It should be noted that on January 19, around 1:30 AM, a fire broke out in the barracks of the engineering unit of the Ministry of Defense N army unit located in the territory of the village of Azat, Gegharkunik region, as a result of which 15 conscript soldiers died, and 7 soldiers were taken to the Vardenis hospital, of which four were discharged after treatment, while three were transferred to Yerevan with serious injuries to the National Center of Burn Care.

It is also reported that the parents of Rostom Asryan, who died in the fire in the engineering unit's barracks, also do not believe the official version of their son's death. Rostom's father, Artak, mentioned that he recognized his son by the tattoos and submitted a DNA sample, as required by law. "Four of the five tattoos were visible. If it weren’t for the tattoos, I wouldn’t have recognized him. The child was unrecognizable. They had been sleeping; they didn’t wake up. They destroyed the place where they were sleeping. They poisoned them; they were dead before the gasoline was poured," he said. Meanwhile, Rostom's mother, Vard Asryan, stated that they also think the children were asleep, but they do not believe in the version of pouring gasoline.

It should be reminded that Colonel Arsen Saroyan of the Rescue Service stated on public television that during the fire that broke out on January 19 in the barracks of the N army unit, there were 21 people inside, out of which 14 were found lying in their beds.