YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Prosecutors in Azerbaijan have requested prison terms ranging from 16 years to life for former political and military leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as other Armenian detainees, during an ongoing trial in Baku.
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, November 13, asked the court to sentence former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, former Defense Army deputy commander Davit Manukyan, former Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, 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 Martirosyan, an 18-year sentence for Davit Alaverdyan, a 17-year sentence for Levon Balayan, and 16-year sentences for Vasiliy Beglaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Erik Ghazaryan.
