Baku Seeks Life Sentences for Artsakh Leaders in Political Sham Trial

Azerbaijan has demanded extremely harsh sentences, including life imprisonment, for the captured political and military leaders of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), continuing what Armenians and human rights defenders call a campaign of political revenge and ethnic persecution.

According to Azerbaijan’s state-controlled Azertac agency, during an ongoing sham trial in Baku, the prosecutor requested life sentences for several top figures of the former Republic of Artsakh. Among them are former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Defense Army Commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, Artsakh National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former Deputy Commander Davit Manukyan, and former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan.

Former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, as well as Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayanyan, face 20 years in prison. Others, including Garik Martirosyan, Davit Alaverdyan, Levon Balayan, Vasili Beglaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Erik Ghazaryan, are facing prison terms ranging from 16 to 19 years.

Azerbaijan accuses the Artsakh leadership of “starting and conducting war,” “genocide,” “terrorism,” and “seizing power by force.” These charges come despite the fact that the war in Artsakh was initiated by Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenians who had lived on their ancestral land for centuries.

The sham trials are taking place after Azerbaijan’s September 2023 attack on Artsakh, which resulted in the forced displacement of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh — a clear act of ethnic cleansing. Following this attack, Baku captured 16 Armenians, including eight former political and military leaders and eight soldiers taken prisoner during the assault. Among the detained leaders is former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, whose trial is being held separately.

These proceedings are widely viewed as politically motivated show trials designed to humiliate the leadership of Artsakh and erase any trace of Armenian statehood from the region. The accused are being punished not for crimes, but for defending the right of Artsakh Armenians to live freely and securely in their homeland.

In addition to the 16 captives from the 2023 attack, Azerbaijan is already holding seven other Armenian prisoners from the 2020 war and the subsequent blockade of Artsakh. In total, 23 confirmed Armenian captives are being held in Azerbaijani prisons under severe and degrading conditions.

Their detention continues despite numerous international appeals for their release, including from the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and major human rights organizations. Azerbaijan has repeatedly ignored these calls, using Armenian captives as political hostages to exert pressure on Yerevan and the Armenian nation.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.