Parents of Soldiers Killed in Barracks to Meet with Military Prosecutor

The parents of 15 soldiers who died in a barracks in the village of Azat will meet with Armenian military prosecutor Grigor Valikoyan in March. This was reported by the parents' representative Norik Norikyan on his Facebook page, adding that they had previously submitted a request to meet with the military prosecutor.

“At the same time, I must emphasize that the parents of the deceased soldiers had also requested a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Minister of Defense, however, they deemed it inappropriate at this stage to meet with the parents,” the lawyer wrote.

Norikyan also informed that the parents of the deceased soldiers will seek a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense to obtain clarifications.

It is recalled that on January 19, around 01:30, a fire broke out in the barracks of the engineer-sapper battalion located in the Azat village area of Gegharkunik Province. As a result of the fire, 15 died, and 7 soldiers were injured.

Immediately after the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and other high-ranking military officials were dismissed.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 532 (4) of the Criminal Code of Armenia, concerning the violation of rules for handling substances that pose a greater danger to the environment, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence. A criminal case has also been opened regarding the apparent negligence of officials in adhering to established fire safety rules and performing related functions.

In this case, Gagik Aghekyan, the deputy head of the logistics and communal service of the military unit, has been detained.

On February 17, it became known that the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia had initiated a public criminal prosecution against the head of the engineering service of the military unit.