Norik Norikyan, legal representative for the families of victims, stated that evidence might have been destroyed in the fire at the military barracks in Azat village, suggesting a serious breach of protocol at the scene.

The trial over the deaths of 15 conscripts in the January fire at the Azat military base continued on March 21 at the Sevan seat of the Gegharkunik Region General Jurisdiction Court. During the session, defendant Yeghishe Hakobyan objected to public hearings, leading the court to ban video and audio recordings.

Following the session, Norikyan shared details of the proceedings with Aravot.am , noting that the commander of the firefighting team present at the scene had been questioned.

“His testimony once again confirmed that the scene was tampered with. This was done in gross violation of Armenian law. Investigators were not given the opportunity to arrive in time and carry out urgent investigative actions. It remains to be determined whether this delay was intentional or due to objective reasons. However, serious failures were evident on the part of the firefighting service, military police, investigative bodies, and relevant military command units. These failures resulted in the contamination of the scene, raising the possibility that vital evidence—potentially critical for understanding the full scope of the tragedy—was destroyed,” he said.

Norikyan added that the court also reviewed the pre-trial detention status of defendants Gor Alekyan and Marlen Sargsyan. The court granted the motion to replace their arrest with house arrest.

On January 19, around 1:30 a.m., a fire broke out in the barracks of the engineering and sapper company of the Ministry of Defense's N military unit stationed in Azat village, Gegharkunik Province. Fifteen conscripts were killed in the blaze. Three others, including one officer, were hospitalized.

The incident led to dismissals, including the head of the Armed Forces Fire Safety Department, Sarkis Mazmanyan, and the commander of the 2nd Army Corps, Colonel Vahram Frunzi Grigoryan. Gor Alekyan, deputy head of logistics and communal operations of the N military unit, was arrested in connection with the case.