At the Moment Your Memory Returns, I Will Cut Your Throat Like a Sheep: Tense Situation at the Court Hearing on the Fire in Azat Village

Today, a court hearing is taking place in the court of Sevan regarding the case of 15 soldiers who died in a fire at the military barracks in Azat village. During the testimony of witness Levon Kharatyan, the situation periodically escalates as he often claims not to remember the answers to questions, which angers the parents of the deceased.

“At the moment your memory returns, I will cut your throat like a sheep,” one parent said.

“Come on, you're talking too much,” the witness responded, after which a scuffle broke out and insults were exchanged. The court session was suspended.

It is recalled that on January 19, around 01:30, a fire broke out in the barrack of the engineering battalion of the Armed Forces of Armenia located in the area of Azat village in Gegharkunik Province, resulting in the death of 15 conscript soldiers. Seven soldiers were transported to the Vardenis hospital; four of them were discharged after receiving medical assistance, while three were transferred to Yerevan with severe injuries to the National Center of Burn Care.

Immediately following the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and seven other senior military officials were dismissed from their positions. Hours after the tragedy, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented the official version at a government meeting, stating that a soldier had poured gasoline on the stove, and when the fire reached him, he threw a 5-liter gasoline container toward the barracks in an act of “self-defense,” which caused the fire.

A criminal case has been initiated under part 4 of Article 532 of the RA Criminal Code (violation of rules for handling weapons, military ammunition, military equipment, or military property, substances, devices, or objects presenting greater danger to the surrounding environment, resulting in the death of two or more persons) and under part 3 of Article 550 (military negligence resulting in the death of a person) which is attached to the main case. Parents of the victims do not believe the official version. They believe the incident was intentional and that their sons were dead before the fire. Many of them recount tense relationships between the soldiers and the officers.