The commander of the 5th training battalion of Jrakan was sentenced to 6 years in prison

During the third Artsakh war (the 44-day war), officer Haykaz Grigoryan, who served as a commander of Jrakan’s 5th training battalion and was later appointed chief of staff, was sentenced to imprisonment. The Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Judge Vardges Sargsyan, published the verdict in Grigoryan’s case, sentencing Grigoryan to 6 years in prison. The court also credited the time Grigoryan spent in custody (11 months and 1 day), and the final sentence was set at 5 years and 29 days of imprisonment. Pastinfo learned about this from the Anti-Corruption Court.

For now, Grigoryan will remain at liberty; the preventive bail measure chosen against him will remain unchanged until the verdict enters into legal force.

Let us recall that Haykaz Grigoryan is one of four officers who served under Ishkhan Vahanyan and, after Vahanyan allegedly abandoned the battlefield, in practice did not properly carry out the company’s retreat. Moreover, the company consisted mostly of newly conscripted soldiers, who were taken to the battlefield without even being taught the rules for using weapons.

Notably, Haykaz Grigoryan was given the status of an accused only during the court proceedings in Ishkhan Vahanyan’s case, after confessions and revelations during interrogation as a witness when there was a major public reaction, and after the injured party filed a report, moreover, Grigoryan was also been questioned during the preliminary investigation, and it is unclear why the investigator did not initiate proceedings against him based on the information he provided. Specifically, in court during Vahanyan’s case, Grigoryan testified that the company, which was a training unit made up of new conscripts, did not undergone combat training allegedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not learned how to use weapons, and that there was an oath ceremony immediately; there were even soldiers who had not taken the oath at all.

In fact, realizing that the conscripts were not prepared for battle and did not know how to use weapons, they were armed with assault rifles and 120 rounds and sent to the battlefield by order of their superiors. Answering questions from the legal successors of fallen and missing soldiers, he confirmed that he had heard that at the Hadrut school, during shelling, the soldiers were not allowed to leave the school and were urged to go inside, even though the school’s only safe place, the basement, was occupied and the new conscripts could not shelter there.

After battalion commander Ishkhan Vahanyan left the battlefield, according to Grigoryan’s testimony given in court, four officers remained with about 200 soldiers. He and one of the officers, Vazgen Vardanyan, took part of the soldiers and organized a retreat, while they had no information about the rest; and he had no answer as to why he and Vardanyan, as higher-ranking officers, left the troops alone. Some soldiers who could not find the correct route were either captured, killed, or seriously wounded. He also admitted that with four commanders they could not gather the troop, that the unit was scattered, and that there was essentially no operational plan. Moreover, the mentioned witness, Haykaz Grigoryan was not the only one who effectively admitted guilt in court. After Grigoryan’s “confession,” representatives of the legal successors of the victims filed a report of a crime, raising the issue of holding Grigoryan accountable.

Criminal prosecution against Haykaz Grigoryan was initiated on June 5, 2024, under Part 3 of Article 549 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia for exceeding authority or abuse of authority, which through negligence caused serious harm to a human health.

According to the accusation, instead of continuing the defense of the positions with the available forces and means, as well as increasing the moral and psychological condition of the subordinate personnel, Grigoryan guided by personal interest and group interest aimed at not endangering his own and his unit’s life and health, failed to fulfill his official duties. Grigoryan does not accept the accusation brought against him.