Lieutenant-General Jalal Harutiunian was indicted in September 2022 in connection the capture by Azerbaijani troops of the frontline positions of a Karabakh Armenian artillery unit on October 12, 2020. Armenian law-enforcement authorities say it was the result of inaccurate information provided by him to the unit. The latter lost at least 20 soldiers and 8 howitzers on that day.
The court of first instance of Armenia’s Syunik province convicted Harutiunian of “careless attitude towards military service” and sentenced him to five and a half years in prison in February this year. The 50-year-old general denied the accusation and blamed the unit’s commanders during the trial. He therefore appealed against the verdict.
The Court of Appeals refused to overturn the guilty verdict afterwards, leading Harutiunian to take his case to the higher Court of Cassation. The latter rejected the appeal out of hand this week, meaning that he will go to prison in the coming days.
Harutiunian was seriously wounded in an Azerbaijani missile strike on October 26, 2020. He was appointed as head of an Armenian military inspectorate after recovering from his wounds.
Harutiunian’s successor as Karabakh army commander, Mikael Arzumanian, was arrested in August 2022 on different criminal negligence charges. In particular, Armenia’s Investigative Committee blamed him for the November 2020 fall of the strategic Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha). Arzumanian, who remains under arrest, strongly denies this accusation.
Armenian opposition leaders have criticized criminal proceedings launched against these and other generals, saying that they are part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to deflect blame for the disastrous war. They hold Pashinian primarily responsible for Armenia’s defeat. The premier has put the blame on the country’s former leaders.