Former Artsakh army commander sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for fatal negligence during 2020 war 

By Alexander Pracht

A court in Armenia’s Syunik region sentenced Jalal Harutyunyan, the former commander of Artsakh's Defense Army, to 5 years and 6 months in prison on Friday, following a trial that examined his role in the 2020 war.

Harutyunyan was found guilty of on-duty negligence that led to severe consequences. The conviction primarily centers on the October 12, 2020 incident that happened near the Karabakhi village of Juvarly, where 20 servicemen were killed, seven were wounded, and one officer remains missing to this day.

The prosecution argued that Harutyunyan misidentified approaching forces as friendly units during combat. In addition to causing numerous casualties, the enemy force, numbering over 100 personnel, overtook the artillery positions, capturing eight howitzers, four Ural trucks, significant amounts of ammunition, and classified documents.

Harutyunyan's lawyer told the press that the verdict will be appealed.

This conviction relates to only one of the original charges against Harutyunyan. In November 2023, he was cleared of separate charges related to a failed counteroffensive on October 7-8, 2020. A military commission of 11 experts concluded in a 306-page report that Harutyunyan had acted diligently and competently during that operation.

Following Baku’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Armenians in October 2023, Harutyunyan was put on Azerbaijan’s wanted list, accused of war crimes, while already under arrest in Armenia. 

What’s the background?

Harutyunyan, born in Soviet Karabakh, fought in the 1992-94 war in the region. He then continued his military career, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant General. In February 2020, he was appointed Defense Minister of Artsakh and commander of its Defense Army, serving in these roles until October 27, 2020, when he was wounded in action. 

Continuing his military career in Armenia, he was appointed as Chief Military Inspector in Armenia’s Ministry of Defense, but was suspended from this position in September 2022 when charges were filed against him. Earlier in February 2021, he had publicly supported the Armenian military leadership's call for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation.

Harutyunyan's conviction comes amid a broader pattern of legal proceedings against high-ranking military commanders who served during the 2020 war. Most recently, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatryan, former Deputy Chief of Armenia’s General Staff, was arrested on similar charges of military negligence in January. Khachatryan faces accusations from Armenia's Investigative Committee regarding his command decisions during combat operations.

These cases have sparked debate about accountability for the war's outcome, with defense lawyers arguing the prosecutions are politically motivated, particularly targeting officers who were involved in the February 2021 call for Pashinyan’s removal, including both Harutyunyan and Khachatryan. Pashinyan later labeled the call an attempted coup.