Will Tiran Khachatryan's Hero Title Be Revoked? «ZhoghavorD»

The newspaper 'ZhoghavorD' writes: 'Nikol Pashinyan is turning the officials he once heroized into suspects and corrupt individuals one by one. This epic of transformation from hero to suspect began with the Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan. He received the title of national hero from Nikol Pashinyan during the 44-day war in October 2020, while serving as the commander of one of the army corps. After the war, he was appointed as the Minister of Emergency Situations. Just two years after being heroized, in March 2022, Piloyan was arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of office.

The next 'suspect-hero' is Tiran Khachatryan, the former deputy chief of the General Staff. During the 44-day war in 2020, Tiran Khachatryan was also awarded the title of national hero, and now he has been charged in connection with the same war-related case.

'ZhoghavorD' has sent inquiries to the press secretary of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nazeli Baghdasarian, asking her to respond to the following questions:

• Nikol Pashinyan honored Tiran Khachatryan with the title of national hero for his acts during the 44-day war back in 2020. Now, the same Tiran Khachatryan has been charged with military negligence during martial law. Why is he being charged only now, years later? What has been uncovered?
• On what grounds was he granted the title of hero?
• What heroic deeds did Nikol Pashinyan evaluate as deserving of the hero title?
• Will the hero title be revoked?

We have received incomplete answers to our questions from the Prime Minister's office, which we present below:

'In response to your inquiry, we inform you that the title of national hero was granted to Tiran Khachatryan on the proposal of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. We also inform you that questions related to the criminal case requested in writing do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's office.'