The trial of 15 Armenian captives, including former political and military leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, concluded in Baku on October 31. Prosecutors requested additional time to prepare their final statements, and the court set the next hearing for November 3, according to Azertag.
The proceedings included former presidents of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arkadi Ghukasyan; former parliament speaker Davit Ishkhanyan; former deputy defense minister Davit Manukyan; former foreign minister Davit Babayan; former defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan; as well as Vasil Beglaryan, Erik Ghazaryan, Davit Allahverdyan, Gurgen Stepanyan, Levon Balayan, Madat Babayan, Melikset Pashayan, and Garik Martirosyan.
The case against former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan is being tried separately.
In September 2023, after a nine-month blockade and the ethnic cleansing of the entire Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan detained former presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, along with former state minister Ruben Vardanyan, foreign minister Davit Babayan, and other former officials. The fabricated charges they face could result in life imprisonment. The politically motivated trial began in Baku on January 17.
