Jalal Harutyunyan

Harutyunyan has served in the Artsakh Defense Army since 5 November 1992, when he volunteered for service at the age of 17. He fought in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War from 1992 to 1994. He served in various positions in the Defense Army, primarily in artillery units such as the Assistant to the Head of Artillery Intelligence. He also served as artillery chief of one of Artsakh's military districts. From 2018 to 2020, he served as First Deputy Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army. On 24 February 2020, he was appointed Minister of Defense by President Bako Sahakyan and was reappointed by President Arayik Harutyunyan on 8 June.^[1][6][7]

Harutyunyan made a call for battle during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war against Azerbaijan.^[8] On 27 October 2020, the president of Artsakh announced that Harutyunyan was relieved of his position after being wounded in fighting, replacing him with Mikael Arzumanyan.^[9][10] A video showing a UAV strike on a car that allegedly belonged to Harutyunyan began circulating online.^[11] However, the spokesperson of the president of Artsakh denied the footage had anything to do with Harutyunyan's injuries.^[12] On October 28, 2020, the president of Artsakh announced his decision to grant Jalal Harutyunyan the title Hero of Artsakh.^[13] He was discharged from hospital in early December 2020.^[14]

In January 2021, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia announced that a criminal case had been opened already in October 2020 on the attempt on Harutyunyan's life made during the war, and stated that no one had been charged in connection with the case yet.^[15] In February 2021, by the order of Vagharshak Harutyunyan, Defense Minister of Armenia, Harutyunyan was appointed to the post of the Head of the Military Control Service of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.^[2]

On 2 September 2022, the Investigative Committee of Armenia announced that a criminal case had been opened against Jalal Harutyunyan on two counts of "careless attitude towards military service" during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.^[16] As a result, his tenure as Head of the Military Control Service was suspended.^[3] According to the prosecution, Harutyunyan misidentified enemy forces as friendly during fighting near the village of Cuvarlı (in the Fuzuli District of Azerbaijan), leading to casualties and the loss of positions and materiel on the Armenian side. Harutyunyan was found guilty, and on 7 February 2025 he was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months' imprisonment. The general's lawyer stated that the verdict will be appealed.^[17]