Tiran Khachatryan's Defense Team Issues Statement

The former deputy chief of the General Staff, Tiran Khachatryan's defense team has issued a statement: "Despite the defense team's position not to comment on the factual circumstances during the pre-investigation phase, the need has arisen to refute certain information that does not correspond to reality and is circulating in the media regarding the incident, as well as to address the decision on Tiran Khachatryan's detention.

General-Lieutenant Tiran Khachatryan, who is charged under the 3rd part of Article 297 of the RA Criminal Code, does not accept guilt, as the act attributed to him, hooliganism involving the use of weapons, does not match the actual circumstances of the case and objective reality.

First and foremost, it should be noted that Tiran Khachatryan's use of a weapon was solely for self-defense purposes, meaning it was aimed at neutralizing the imminent danger to his life and health. Tiran Khachatryan discharged the weapon by firing into the air without any intention of harming the participants in the dispute.

Regarding the reason for the quarrel, it should be emphasized that the dispute involving Tiran Khachatryan did not revolve around any political issues. The person who sustained injuries as a result of the argument is not a participant in the dispute, and their injury was a consequence of coincidence. Moreover, it has been established through forensic examination that the injured person sustained minor bodily injury, and they have not filed any complaints.

Tiran Khachatryan's detention is devoid of the mandatory condition of a reasonable suspicion and grounds. The materials presented to the court clearly indicate that the conclusions of the prosecuting authority and the court regarding the existence of reasonable suspicion are entirely unfounded, as Tiran Khachatryan's actions were not aimed at demonstrating a disrespectful or blatant contempt for legal or moral norms towards society but were purely aimed at protecting his life and health.

The court has cited the potential risks of flight or hiding, as well as obstructing the proceedings, as grounds for applying detention. However, these risks are entirely speculative and do not rest on any factual data that would substantiate such risks. Furthermore, during the court session, the defense requested to apply alternative measures in place of detention, namely house arrest and a bail of 10 million AMD. In response, the prosecution stated that although house arrest mitigates flight risks, it cannot ensure that Tiran Khachatryan would not exert influence on participants in the proceedings given the potential for communication and phone calls.

However, neither the motion nor the court ruling has limited Tiran Khachatryan's visits and phone calls, which indicates that approving the detention request and rejecting the house arrest request has not stemmed from the legislative purposes of the selected restrictive measure. In short, it is purposeless.

We believe that Tiran Khachatryan's detention has a hidden motive of punishing him for his strong and periodic criticism of the political authorities.

The decision to detain Tiran Khachatryan has been appealed to the Court of Appeals. It should be recalled that General-Lieutenant Tiran Vazgen Khachatryan is a military personnel with higher military education, having served in the Armenian Army from 1991 to 2021, holding high positions in the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. He has been awarded the highest honors for significant successes in military affairs and impeccable service, including the Homeland Order (the title of National Hero of Armenia), the Combat Cross of the second degree, as well as numerous medals for military service from both the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh."