Soldiers Were Not Provided with Trenching Tools, New Clothes Were Distributed: Witness in Ishkhan Vahanian's Case

In the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, Central Division, presided over by Judge John Hayrapetyan, a witness was interrogated today, February 16, in the case of Ishkhan Vahanian, commander of a battalion from one of the military units, concerning active-duty and junior officer personnel.

The witness, a private soldier named Monte Poghosyan, recounted that on September 27, 2020, when the 44-day war began, soldiers were elevated to positions and remained in Jabrail until October 6, after which they retreated to the army unit in Hadrut.

“We were taken to a school in Hadrut; we stayed there for one day. On the 9th, we were moved to Khurhat Mountain, where we were told to take positions. On the 9th, bombardments occurred in the nearby forest, and we stayed there overnight. In the morning around the 10th, they told us a ceasefire was declared, then we were ordered to climb Khurhat Mountain. We had set up position in three places when a diversion group attacked us, and I was injured in the head. The guys got me down to the vehicles. When we went by Kamaz, they shot at us from the adjacent mountain, but I don’t know if they were ours or Turks. I was injured and entered the nearby village, where a civilian approached us, taking us to the Khndzoresk hospital in his vehicle, where I underwent an X-ray for a few hours, and that was when I saw Ishkhan Vahanian. I stayed in the hospital for 6 days, then went to maternal care and did not see Vahanian again,” the witness testified.

Monte Poghosyan reported that during this time, he did not hear that Vahanian had been wounded. He indicated that there was exchange of fire during the diversion attack.

When asked whether it was possible to sustain shrapnel injuries under those combat conditions, the witness said it was possible. Referring to reports that he was in the same vehicle with Vahanian as an injured soldier, the witness denied this: “No, no officers were with us, only soldiers.”

When the opposing side asked whether shovels were provided to the soldiers for digging trenches while they were at the Hadrut school, the witness replied that they had not been provided with any tools. When asked if new clothes were distributed to the soldiers, he said yes. When questioned further about who should think about trench digging tools and other matters, the witness stated it was the battalion commander’s responsibility.

According to the indictment, Ishkhan Vahanian, appointed as commander of the 5th Infantry Battalion of the Defense Army from October 9, 2020, and holding the rank of major, due to personal interest arising from a failure to engage in combat actions near Khurhat Mountain, which resulted in not risking his own life, displayed negligence in authority and did not fulfill the obligations imposed by the RA Armed Forces internal service regulations and combat charter, causing serious consequences. This resulted in several deaths, disappearances, captivity, and varying degrees of injuries among the soldiers of the relevant military unit of the Artsakh Republic’s Defense Army.

Additionally, on October 10, 2020, at around noon, Ishkhan Vahanian voluntarily left the battlefield at the mentioned combat position at Khurhat Mountain, leading to a lack of proper command and communication for the 5th battalion personnel, who were left in panic and attempted to defend themselves using available means and methods. However, due to the absence of coordinated combat actions and unified command, they were unsuccessful, in a context where they had no means to learn from superior command about the enemy's penetration into Hadrut city. Some personnel retreated towards the mentioned city, among whom were soldiers who lost their lives: Tigran Aganesyan, Narek Ghazaryan, Harout Gharapetyan, Suren Khechumyan, Erik Martirosyan, Artashes Ayvazyan, Hayk Harutyunyan, Sasun Petrosyan, Albert Stepanyan, Samvel Sambatov, Karen Nersesyan, Grisha Grigoryan, Davit Adoian, Artyom Mkrtchyan, Arman Gabrielyan, and Rafik Sahakyan, with some captured by the enemy including Erik Gasparyan, Albert Grigoryan, Narek Sirunyan, Erik Khachatryan, Robert Vardanian, Karen Manukyan, and Arayik Galstyan, while several others sustained injuries. Furthermore, the whereabouts of mandatory serviceman Arthur Aleksanyan remain unknown.

Ishkhan Armeni Vahanian is charged with criminal acts as specified in parts 4 and 1 of articles 375 and 380 of the RA Criminal Code.