Azerbaijani authorities captured a number of former Karabakh officials, including three former presidents of the unrecognized republic, whom Baku regards as separatists, following Azerbaijan’s 2023 recapture of the region. The military operation conducted by Azerbaijan forced all ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to flee to Armenia, ending nearly three decades of their push for independence from Baku.
Defendants in the trial, which began in January, are accused of starting and conducting war, genocide, terrorism, the violent seizure of power, and other serious crimes.
According to Azerbaijan’s state-run Azertac news agency, the prosecution on Thursday asked the court to sentence former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutiunian, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanian, former Defense Army deputy commander Davit Manukian, former Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanian, and former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan to life imprisonment.
Azertac reported that prosecutors sought 20-year sentences for former Artsakh presidents Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, citing Azerbaijani law that bars life sentences for individuals aged 65 or older.
Prosecutors also asked for 20-year terms for Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan. They requested a 19-year sentence for Garik Martirosian, an 18-year sentence for Davit Alaverdian, a 17-year sentence for Levon Balayan, and 16-year sentences for Vasiliy Beglarian, Gurgen Stepanian, and Erik Ghazarian.
The next hearing in the trial is scheduled for November 27.
Following Azerbaijan’s 2023 assault on Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent mass displacement of its population, Azerbaijani authorities captured 16 Armenians. Eight of them are former political and military leaders — including former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who faces dozens of charges, some of which carry a life sentence, in a separately held trial. The remaining eight individuals were captured during the military operations.
Seven other Armenians taken prisoner during the 2020 war and the subsequent blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh have already been convicted and sentenced to various prison terms.
In total, Azerbaijan is holding 23 confirmed Armenian detainees.
Many human rights activists in Armenia and abroad describe the Baku proceedings as a show trial in which Armenians are denied due process. Azerbaijan dismisses these assertions.
Official Yerevan does not comment on the course of the trial. But speaking to reporters in parliament earlier this week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said his government works “on a daily basis” on the issue of Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan. He said the matter could be resolved through broader rapprochement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“The more auspicious the environment between Armenia and Azerbaijan is, the easier will be the solution to this issue as well,” he said. “Peace will solve many remaining issues as well.”
