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Armenian POW & Former Artsakh FM Appeals to Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court, Says 333-Page Court Record Was Withheld
Lawyers for former Artsakh Foreign Minister Davit Babayan and two other Armenian detainees have appealed their cases to Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court, as Babayan alleges that key portions of the appellate court record were withheld from the defense. Babayan disclosed the appeal in a voice message sent from detention in Baku to his family. He said the defense received the Court of Appeal’s 47-volume case file electronically, but the documents did not carry official seals or signa
Armenians Remember Six Years Since the Start of the 2020 Artsakh War
On the morning of September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched an attack on Artsakh, beginning a 44-day war that took thousands of Armenian lives. Six years later, Azerbaijan occupies indigenous Armenian Artsakh, and families who buried their sons still return to their graves. For thousands of Armenian families, the anniversary is measured not only in years, but in lives that never returned from the battlefield. Armenia’s Investigative Committee said this month that 3,833 people o
The Armenian Report Team
Sep 26
Azerbaijan Claims Indigenous Armenian Dadivank Monastery’s Artifacts Were Stolen, Reports Them to Interpol
Azerbaijan says cultural artifacts allegedly removed from the medieval Dadivank monastery and taken to Armenia have been listed in Interpol’s database of stolen art, opening a new front in a growing dispute over Armenian Christian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. Sabina Hajiyeva, head of Azerbaijan’s State Service for the Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, said information about frescoes and khachkars — Armenian carved cross-stones — was submitted to I
The Armenian Report Team
Sep 22
‘No Facts or Evidence’: Lawyer Challenges Ruben Vardanyan’s 20-Year Sentence in Azerbaijan
INTERVIEW: The Azerbaijani court that sentenced Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison held him responsible for alleged crimes dating back to 1988, decades before he became an official in Artsakh, according to an Armenian lawyer who reviewed the full judgment in his case. Siranush Sahakyan, an attorney representing Vardanyan before the European Court of Human Rights, told The Armenian Report that she found no evidence in the judgment showing that Vardanyan personally ordered,
The Armenian Report Team
Sep 22
Three Years After Azerbaijan’s Attack Forced More Than 120,000 Armenians From Artsakh, No Known Armenian Civilian Community Remains
Three years ago, the world watched in horror as more than 120,000 Armenians were forced to flee Artsakh, their indigenous homeland, after months of blockade and Azerbaijan’s Sept. 19, 2023, military offensive. Endless lines of families escaping with children, elderly relatives and the few belongings they could carry evoked the haunting images of Armenians driven from their ancestral homes during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Today, as we remember that horrific day, the emergenc
The Armenian Report Team
Sep 19
Azerbaijani Official Mocks Armenian Christian Heritage at Gandzasar as Yerevan Remains Silent
Azerbaijani presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev disputed the Armenian identity of the centuries-old Gandzasar Monastery and mocked its manuscript heritage during a government-organized tour for foreign diplomats in Artsakh, indigenous Armenian land currently occupied by Azerbaijan, prompting anger in Armenia and growing calls for Yerevan to respond publicly. Neither Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan nor Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had commented on the episode as of Monday.
The Armenian Report Team
Sep 14
POW Says Azerbaijan Blocks Armenian Detainees From Court Documents and Legal Representation
Davit Ishkhanyan, the former speaker of the Artsakh Parliament imprisoned in Azerbaijan, says Azerbaijani authorities have withheld court rulings from Armenian detainees and their lawyers, blocked efforts to authorize legal representation in Armenia and left prisoners with no practical way to contact the country’s human rights ombudswoman. In a message from prison, Ishkhanyan challenged recent statements by Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva about the treat
Azerbaijan Levels Centuries-Old Armenian Cemetery in Occupied Shushi for Wastewater Facility
A centuries-old Armenian-Russian cemetery in Shushi has been completely leveled to make way for a wastewater and stormwater treatment facility, according to Caucasus Heritage Watch, which documented the destruction through satellite imagery. The cemetery on the eastern side of the city was destroyed between May 9 and 14, 2026, CHW said in a report published Sept. 5. The construction is part of a broader redevelopment plan for Shushi. The burial ground contained at least 40 hi
Artsakh Declared Independence 35 Years Ago as Armenian Heritage Faces Destruction Under Azerbaijani Occupation
Thirty-five years ago, Artsakh declared itself a republic. Today, the anniversary comes nearly three years after Azerbaijan occupied the region and forced virtually its entire ethnic Armenian population to flee to Armenia. For decades, Sept. 2 was commemorated in Artsakh with official ceremonies and public events celebrating the establishment of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In 2026, the anniversary is being observed without an Armenian population living in the region and am
Azerbaijan Destroys Stepanakert Cathedral and Irreplaceable Armenian Sacred Art
The destruction of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral in Stepanakert also wiped out significant works of Armenian sacred art, including a set of handcrafted entrance doors created specifically for the church by artist and sculptor Robert Askaryan. The cathedral was completely destroyed sometime between March 3 and April 2, 2026, according to satellite monitoring cited by Artsakh Cultural Heritage Ombudsman Hovik Avanesov. Among the works lost were Askaryan’s entrance doors, whi
The Armenian Report Team
Aug 29
Trump Urged to Press Azerbaijan to Release 19 Armenian Prisoners
President Donald Trump should use Washington’s growing influence in the South Caucasus to push Azerbaijan to release 19 Armenian prisoners still held in Baku, foreign policy analyst Darren G. Spinck argues, calling their continued detention a major unresolved test of the U.S.-backed Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. Spinck, managing director of Janus Forum and a non-resident fellow at the Danube Institute, made the case in an opinion column published by The Washington Times.
The Armenian Report Team
Aug 21
‘Imprisoned, but Not on Our Knees’: POW Davit Babayan Speaks From Azerbaijani Custody
Former Artsakh Foreign Minister Davit Babayan has accused Azerbaijan’s courts of staging a predetermined legal process against him and other imprisoned Armenian officials, saying the record of the proceedings will now form part of their case before international courts. Babayan made the allegations in a message sent from Azerbaijani custody through his family and provided to News.am. His remarks came after an appeals court upheld the verdicts against him and other former Arts
The Armenian Report Team
Aug 19
Azerbaijan Destroys Prominent Armenian Cathedral in Stepanakert, Artsakh
Azerbaijan has destroyed a prominent Armenian cathedral in Stepanakert, with satellite imagery showing the church was demolished between March 3 and April 2, 2026, according to an Armenian cultural heritage specialist monitoring endangered sites across Artsakh. Hovik Avanesov, the Cultural Heritage Ombudsman of Artsakh and vice president of the Azgayin Cultural-Historical NGO, identified the destroyed building as the Holy Mother of God Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral o
The Armenian Report Team
Aug 12
Expedia, Viator and European Travel Platforms Sell Tours Through Artsakh After 2023 Armenian Exodus
Major international booking platforms are selling trips to Stepanakert, Shushi and other parts of Artsakh, often giving travelers little information about the Armenian population that lived there before Azerbaijan occupied the entire region in 2023. Less than three years after more than 120,000 Armenians were forced from Artsakh, international travel companies are selling day trips through cities where Armenians lived until Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive. Expe
The Armenian Report Team
Aug 11
Baku Appeals Court Upholds Life Sentences for Former Artsakh Leaders and Other Armenian Prisoners
A court in Azerbaijan has upheld the convictions and prison sentences of former Artsakh leaders and other Armenian prisoners, rejecting their appeals and leaving in place the harsh penalties imposed earlier this year. According to Azerbaijani media, the Baku Court of Appeals ruled on Aug. 6 to uphold the Feb. 5 verdicts issued by the Baku Military Court. The appeals filed by former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, Par
“The Verdict Was Decided Long Ago”: POW Davit Ishkhanyan Says Baku Appeal Was a Political Trial
Davit Ishkhanyan, the former speaker of Artsakh’s National Assembly who is being held in Baku, said the outcome of his appeal had been decided before the judges began deliberations, describing the case as a political prosecution rather than a legitimate judicial process. In a message released after the latest court hearing, Ishkhanyan said Azerbaijan’s Court of Appeal had formally withdrawn to consider its ruling, but argued that the panel had no real role in determining the
Marriott Removes Controversial Artsakh Tour After Global Armenian Advocacy Campaign
Marriott Bonvoy has removed a controversial tourism package to Azerbaijan-occupied Artsakh after a five-day international advocacy campaign led by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Armenian National Committee organizations around the world and coalition partners. The tour, which had been available through Marriott’s activities platform and was eligible for Marriott Bonvoy rewards points, offered travelers a guided visit to occupied Artsakh, including the citi
Ruben Vardanyan Takes 20-Year Azerbaijan Prison Sentence to European Court of Human Rights
Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights. This is his first international legal challenge to the 20-year prison sentence handed down by an Azerbaijani military court earlier this year. The application was filed July 19 by human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who represents Armenian detainees before the Strasbourg-based court. In a statement published on Vardanyan's official Facebook page, Sahakyan said she will a
The Armenian Report Team
Jul 22
Armenian General Jailed in Azerbaijan Urges Pashinyan to Publicly Reject Baku’s 2020 War Claims
An Armenian general imprisoned in Azerbaijan has called on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to publicly reject Baku’s accusations that Armenia planned and waged an aggressive war in 2020. Maj. Gen. Davit Manukyan made the appeal in a message sent from prison in Baku and obtained by Pastinfo. He said one of the charges against him centers on the planning, preparation and conduct of the September 2020 war. At the time, Pashinyan was serving as Armenia’s prime minister and command
The Armenian Report Team
Jul 20
Aliyev Defends Ethnic Cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, Renews Demands on Armenia
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev used an international media forum in Shushi to defend his government's ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, criticize Western institutions and repeat long-standing demands on Armenia, the United States and Europe, while ironically insisting that peace in the South Caucasus must be built on international law. The appearance came one day after Aliyev delivered a more confrontational message during a meeting with settlers of villages in the oc
The Armenian Report Team
Jul 13
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