The Hearing on the Case of 15 Soldiers Who Died in Barracks Begins Amid Disputes: Sanctions Imposed on Parents

The court hearing regarding the case of the 15 soldiers who died in a military barracks in the village of Azat, Gegharkunik Province, began with arguments. Today, at the Sevan residence of Gegharkunik Province, due to the absence of the accused, Marlen Sargsyan, the court was preparing to postpone the hearing.

Amidst the court's announcement, the parents of the deceased soldiers expressed their outrage, claiming that the court’s actions were illegal and that the hearing should continue. The court had imposed sanctions on the accused Marlen Sargsyan, stating that he should not participate in two court sessions. However, at the beginning of today’s hearing, the court announced that Marlen Sargsyan did not wish to attend the session to discuss the issue of lifting the imposed court sanctions.

The defendant's lawyer objected to the court's statement, asserting that it did not reflect reality, as his client intended to come but found no point in attending the hearing due to the sanctions. The court began to consider postponing the session, which led to a dispute. The parents complained that they traveled from different regions, arriving at the Sevan residence only to have the hearings postponed every time.

The court then imposed judicial sanctions on the parents, further escalating the situation. The court had to recess the hearing for 20 minutes, after which it was announced that the hearing would continue without the presence of the accused.

It should be noted that on January 19, around 1:30 am, a fire broke out in the barracks of a military engineering battalion located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia's Ministry of Defense Military Unit No. N in Azat village, resulting in the death of 15 conscript soldiers. Seven soldiers were hospitalized in Vardenis; four were released after receiving treatment, while three were transferred to Yerevan with severe injuries for treatment at the National Burn Center.

Immediately following the incident, the commander of the 2nd Army Corps and seven other high-ranking military officials were dismissed from their posts. 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 after the fire caught him, in a “self-defense instinct,” he threw a five-liter gasoline container towards the barracks, causing the fire.

A criminal case has been initiated under Part 4 of Article 532 of the RA Criminal Code (violating the rules of handling weapons, ammunition, military hardware, or other military property, materials, devices, or objects posing a greater danger to the environment that negligently resulted in the death of two or more persons) and an investigation under Part 3 of Article 550 (military negligence, which negligently resulted in loss of life), which has been attached to the primary proceedings. The parents of the victims do not believe the official version, insisting that the incident was intentional and that the soldiers were dead before the fire. Many of them recount the tense relations between the soldiers and their superiors.