Jalal Harutyunyan's Verdict Published

The first instance general jurisdiction court of the Syunik region has published the verdict of the former Minister of Defense of Artsakh, army commander, General-Lieutenant Jalal Harutyunyan. According to the court's decision, he was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison. The beginning of the sentence will be counted from the moment he was effectively placed under restraint, as reported by hetq.am. The verdict has not yet taken legal effect, and Harutyunyan's defense lawyers plan to appeal to a higher court.

The court found it proven that the commander of the Artsakh Defense Army displayed "dishonest and careless" behavior regarding the execution of his official duties on October 12, 2020, which carelessly led to severe consequences. The charges relate to the incident in the settlement of Juvarly (Fizuli) in the Varanda region, where the D-20 artillery division of the 8th infantry brigade of the Artsakh Defense Army found itself under fire from an enemy armed group. During the proceedings, all witnesses connected to that incident stated that Jalal Harutyunyan had said, "101 says they are ours," or "for sure they are ours," or "100% they are ours."

Throughout the trial, the entire crew of the artillery division insisted that it was possible and likely to conduct a safe retreat in the event of an order to leave. They reported that the crew was already preparing, with some drivers moving vehicles from cover to firing positions and beginning to gather ammunition. However, after Harutyunyan canceled the order to leave the firing position, the crew returned to their positions. Furthermore, new target orders were relayed from the advanced command post (ACP).

“Jalal Harutyunyan's negligence significantly contributed to the delayed response to the enemy's actions and the untimely abandonment of the firing position, which allowed the enemy group to approach the crew unimpeded under the condition of being discovered and to initiate direct combat actions,” the verdict states.

As a result of Harutyunyan's actions, 20 servicemen from the first battery were killed, including reserve members Nver Avanesyan, Vahe Avagyan, Vachagan Harutyunyan, Karen Danielyan, Nairi Baghdasaryan, and conscripts Gevorg Balayan, Samvel Ghazaryan, Arthur Asryan, Levon Grigoryan, Davit Azatyan, Artyom Tepeyan, Ruben Poghosyan, Narek Ohanyan, Artak Mikayelyan, Hayk Papikyan, Vahe Papyan, Hayk Antonyan, Gor Apan0805yan, Samvel Poghosyan, and Hayk Melikyan. Ten servicemen from the first and second batteries sustained varying degrees of injuries, including senior officer and senior lieutenant Arik Gokoryan, reserve service members Arthur Beglaryan, Arthur Gasparyan, Emil Afrikyan, Vazgen Harutyunyan, Mikayel Mikayelyan, and conscripts Artyom Hakobyan, Argishti Margaryan, Erik Grigoryan, and Sergey Daragulya. The whereabouts of the battery commander, Lieutenant Colonel Norair Hayrapetyan, remain unknown.

The command observation post of the D-20 artillery division, its occupied firing positions, as well as eight D-20 guns, five Ural brand vehicles, weapons and ammunition, and documents containing service secrets held at the command observation post and the batteries have come under enemy control.

“The court also deems it necessary to emphasize that the number of our troops, according to the testimony of the division commander Hayk Tovmasyan, amounted to 164 personnel with the involvement of reserve forces. It should be considered that before the incident occurred, the third battery of the D-20 artillery division was hit, resulting in nine personnel fleeing in fear during the move towards Hadrut. Therefore, if we consider the quantitative relation, it shows that both the enemy's means were disproportionate relative to the means of our troops, and the numbers,” states the ruling.

The court also addressed the incident regarding the third battery being hit. Evidence examined during the trial confirmed that the third battery was first hit after moving to the Juvarly area, resulting in one death, 5-6 injuries, and loss of artillery. The court found noteworthy the testimony of the injured Armenian Asryan, who stated that the division leadership reported the battery’s hit to the Defense Army headquarters, and afterward, on October 12, 2020, it was again deployed in the Juvarly area.

“It is puzzling that the division, having already deployed in a revealed area, was ordered to relocate to the same place again. It should be noted that the emergency documents examined during the trial confirm that it was at least obvious that the enemy was present in the areas adjacent to the Juvarly terrain, yet in response to the division commander's inquiries, it was reported that the approaching group belonged to us,” the judicial act states.

For more details, refer to the original source.