Former Deputy Chief of Armenia’s General Staff arrested for war-related ‘negligence’

Tiran Khachatryan, the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, was arrested and sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention on charges of demonstrating a negligent attitude towards the performance of his official duties during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. Khachatryan had previously been awarded the title of National Hero for his service during the war.

On Sunday, the Investigative Committee announced that Khachatryan’s negligence towards the performance of his official duties during martial law in 2020 ‘has caused grave consequences’.

If found guilty, Khachatryan might face up to eight years imprisonment.

The Investigative Committee accused Khachatryan of demonstrating negligence after he was appointed Commander of the Southern Group of Forces from 7 to 17 October, 2020.

Khachatryan allegedly did not create an effective control point for the southern group and did not ‘fully implement a number of measures characteristic of management during the conduct of combat operations’, the Investigative Committee said.

‘In particular, the latter's actions led to the failure of the defence of the army line of the Armed Forces, undermined the system of command of the troops, disrupted the implementation of the assigned combat task, as a result, the enemy took advantage of the situation and unhindered, seized the strategic height, broke through the existing line, in another case bypassed its own units and, developing the attack, took possession of the territories entrusted to the defence of the group’, the statement read.

Khachatryan's defence team vowed to appeal the pre-trial detention sentencing,  noting that they were not provided enough time to familiarize themselves with the ‘1200-page case’.

They also suggested that the detention was applied in order ‘to punish [Khachatryan] for his active political and civic position, as well as to make him "guilty" of the defeat in the war’.

‘It’s perplexing to give Mr. Khachatryan the title of national hero just days after those operations and to indict and arrest Mr. Khachatryan for the same operations four and a half years later’, one of his lawyers told RFE/RL.

Khachatryan has rejected the charges and claimed his innocence, his defence team said.

On the morning of Khachatryan’s arrest, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shared a Facebook post, saying that heroism must be made part of everyday life, and suggesting that one could be a hero ‘in work, education, creativity, daily behaviour and actions’.

Some took to social media to suggest the timing of Pashinyan’s post was not a coincidence.

Khachatryan was awarded the title of National Hero during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War at Pashinyan’s suggestion. According to the presidential decree, Khachatryan deserved the award ‘for his exceptional services in the defense of the Motherland, courage and devotion shown during the hostilities’.

Khachatryan was dismissed from his position on 24 February, 2021, on the same day he reportedly ‘laughed’ at Pashinyan’s comment that the Russian-made Iskander missiles only exploded at a rate of ‘10%’, which Khachatryan said was ‘not serious’.

A day after Khachatryan’s dismissal, Armenia's General Staff of the Armed Forces called for the resignation of Pashinyan and his government. Pashinyan called the move ‘a military coup’ and ordered the removal of the head of the General Staff, Onik Gasparyan.

Following this, in June 2021, in response to Pashinyan’s proposal to renounce his title of National Hero, Khachatryan said ‘I will not respond to every idiot’s statement’.

Previously, Khachatryan was detained for two months in January 2024, on charges of hooliganism with the use of weapons. According to the accusation, Khachatryan opened fire in a restaurant, which resulted in a patron at a neighbouring table being injured. Khachatryan was released in March on a ֏5 million ($12,500) bail and a ban on leaving the country.

According to RFE/RL, Khachatryan rejected the validity of the charges, saying instead that he had fired the gun in the air in self-defence. His lawyer claimed the alleged crime was a guise for authorities to arrest a critic.

Khachatryan’s arrest follows the recent detention of another former high-ranking military official.

On 29 December, former Defence Minister Arshak Karapetyan was briefly detained by Russian authorities in Moscow on Yerevan’s request. Karapetyan, who served as minister for three months in 2021, is wanted in Armenia on charges of abuse of authority and power, exceeding the limits of his authority, not performing his official duties, and illegally participating in entrepreneurial activity.

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