New 'culprits' in the Stepanakert explosion case, says 'Hraparak'

In Artsakh, the criminal case initiated regarding the explosion that occurred on September 25, 2023, at a fuel depot may result in the accountability of Kamo Vardanian, the former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army (ADA). This was reported by the newspaper 'Hraparak'.

It is noted that the responsibility for the security of the fuel depot within the military unit was assigned to a special division of the ADA, which was supposed to provide citizens with safe fuel, a duty it failed to fulfill.

Vardanian was appointed as the Minister of Defense and commander of the ADA a year after the end of the 2020 war, in September 2021. There are reports that he has recently been appointed as an advisor to Suren Papikyan on a voluntary basis.

We inquired with the prosecutor's office about the status of the preliminary investigation in the case, whether there are any defendants, and what the main hypothesis is. In response to our inquiry, the prosecutor's office did not deny Vardanian's connection to the explosion. We also asked whether Kamo Vardanian holds any status in the initiated proceedings. In the written response sent to us, the prosecutor's office stated: 'The case is at the stage of preliminary investigation, and extensive evidentiary and procedural activities are underway; no individual has the status of a defendant. Any additional information requested cannot be provided, as it contains data from the criminal proceedings that are not subject to public disclosure,' the newspaper reports.