Stove Ignited with Gasoline: Public Criminal Prosecution Against Military Engineering Officer, Captain

On February 1, 2023, a decision was made by the prosecutor overseeing the legality of pre-trial criminal proceedings to initiate public criminal prosecution against Captain E.H., an officer of the engineering service of Military Unit No. N of the Republic of Armenia's Ministry of Defense, under the 532nd article, part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. This article pertains to violating the rules for handling weapons, ammunition, military equipment, or other military property, as well as substances, devices, or items posing significant danger to surrounding environments, resulting in unintentional death of two or more individuals.

During the investigation conducted by the 5th garrison investigative department of the Military Investigative Committee, sufficient evidence has been gathered indicating that on January 19, 2023, around 00:40, Captain E.H., as the responsible party for the heating period, violated legislative requirements concerning the handling of a highly dangerous substance—gasoline. According to fire safety regulations, it is prohibited to use gasoline and other flammable liquids as fuel for stoves.

To heat a stove located at the barrack designated for the personnel of the engineering battalion in the village of Azat, Gegharkunik Province, Captain E.H. took the initiative to ascertain the whereabouts of the diesel fuel and gasoline allocated to that unit from the duty officer. He then retrieved one of ten plastic containers, each with a capacity of 5 liters, filled with gasoline from an open vehicle collection site nearby and returned to the barrack to ignite the stove with gasoline. This resulted in a fire breaking out in the barrack.

Due to the negligent and careless attitude of several responsible officials from the Ministry of Defense towards their service duties, the personnel could not extinguish the fire with the available fire protection measures; furthermore, in the absence of a backup exit, they were unable to break the iron bars on the barrack windows to escape. Consequently, as a result of Captain E.H.'s ignition of the fire and the failure of responsible officials to provide the personnel with fire protection measures, 15 conscript soldiers resting in the barrack died, and the captain along with 4 other conscripts sustained varying degrees of bodily injuries.