Who Owns the Burned Barracks: Tracing Reports of an 'Azerbaijani Owner'

During the January 25 episode of 168 TV's Pressing program, host Satik Seyranian and her guest, military expert Karen Vrtanesyan, discussed information regarding the ownership and rental of the military barracks, which burned down on January 19 in the village of Azat, according to FIP.am.

In response to Vrtanesyan's observation that the Ministry of Defense was paying rent for the barracks, Seyranian, referencing her sources, noted that the barracks 'formerly belonged to an Azerbaijani named Hasan.'

“By the way, I cannot reveal the source, but we have received information that this house previously belonged to an Azerbaijani, someone named Hasan, for example. So, that also exists,” Seyranian stated.

In response, Vrtanesyan remarked, “Let’s set aside these serial-like moments for now.”

“No, this is also a point; you are questioning whom the money was transferred to, what was done, who received it,” Seyranian countered.

Vrtanesyan also responded, “I do not think the Ministry of Defense was transferring money to Hasan, but there is some owner of that house.”

In response, Seyranian noted, “Well, we need to understand to whom that house belonged.”

The fact-checking platform previously published an investigation regarding the burned barracks in the village of Azat, as well as several other barracks in similar conditions. According to the Cadastre Committee, the house that housed the engineer-sapper battalion had belonged to 82-year-old Svetlana Atanesyan, a resident of the village of Azat, since 2006.

Attached is the certificate issued by the Cadastre Committee regarding the rights registered over the house.

Therefore, at the moment of being rented by the Ministry of Defense, the building belonged to the aforementioned resident of Azat village. Thus, the burned barracks belong to a citizen of Armenia, and suggestions that the Ministry of Defense could have rented the house from some Azerbaijani are unfounded.