Connection Between Soldiers' Deaths and Yeghishe Hakobyan's Actions Still Needs to be Clarified, Accused Officer's Defense

In a case involving a fire that broke out in the barracks of the engineering battalion of the N military unit located in the village of Azat, Gegharkunik Province, charges have been brought against Captain Yeghishe Hakobyan, who attempted to light the stove and is currently in treatment.

His defense attorney, Hovsep Sargsyan, mentioned in an interview with Public that the captain wishes to provide detailed testimony after his recovery.

"It is evident that Yeghishe Hakobyan is unable to speak; his face and hands are severely burned," he stated.

According to the defense attorney, the charges against the officer are highly preliminary.

"It must still be clearly established the causal link between the soldiers' deaths and Yeghishe Hakobyan's actions or inactions in this case. Whether there is such a link or not will determine the final conclusion," the attorney noted.

Back in December 2022, the Chief of General Staff issued a directive prohibiting the use of gasoline in military units.

"The fact that gasoline was used to ignite the stove alone is insufficient to claim a causal link with the deaths of the victims. This is a hypothesis that needs to be confirmed or denied," he added.

According to him, his client did not reside in the house that burned; he had rented another home. "He went there to help the soldiers on that day. He had little contact with the soldiers purely due to the nature of his service. Those soldiers had their battalion commander, their squad commander, while Yeghishe Hakobyan is merely an engineering service officer who had his own direct commander, who assigned him various tasks. He had no interaction with those soldiers," he emphasized.

Additionally, the attorney mentioned that three weeks prior to the incident, the officer submitted a discharge report, which was not approved, and subsequently, he replaced that report with a transfer request, which had also not been approved.