Nagorno-Karabakh tries murder case of four soldiers

Starting from June 16, a trial is on in Nagorno-Karabakh on the murder case of four soldiers who perished at one of the positions of the Defence Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) in November 2010. The next court session is scheduled for June 29.

On November 19, 2010, four privates were shot dead and three more wounded in a military unit stationed in the south front line of the NKR's Defence Army. Investigators believe that the tragedy was caused by a violation of military discipline. The charge was brought against Manvel Azroyan (born in 1991) and Khachik Aleksanyan (born in 1992).

The trial is conducted by the travelling court of general jurisdiction of the Syunik Region of Armenia. On June 16, it became clear in the course of the session that a soldiers' quarrel burst out into the mortal shootout.

The freedom restriction measure has not yet been defined; according to the prosecutor, "it will all become clear during the trial."

According to the investigation, Azroyan shot at his comrades-in-arms and then attempted to commit suicide but survived. He is accused of murdering two or more persons and breaking the rules of combat duty. Aleksanyan is accused of breaking the rules of combat duty – according to his story, he left his combat on duty post, because he "wanted to sleep very much."

See earlier report: "Azerbaijani MoD: soldiers in Karabakh were killed by Armenian militaries".