On September 15, Azerbaijan’s military court in Baku held another session in the ongoing politically motivated trial of former Artsakh political and military leaders, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others.
The hearing was presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev. According to Azertag, interpreters and defense attorneys were provided for all defendants in their native language.
The session focused in part on the events of 1988–1992 in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan is using to justify its prosecution of the former leaders.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 18.
In September 2023, following a nine-month blockade and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenian population, Azerbaijan captured multiple former officials of the Republic of Artsakh. Among those detained are former presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan; former state minister Ruben Vardanyan; foreign minister Davit Babayan; and others. They face fabricated charges that could lead to life imprisonment. The politically driven trial began on January 17 in Baku.
