'Ter-Petrosyan, Kocharyan, and Sargsyan must also face justice': View from Baku
Trial of separatists in Azerbaijan
The trial of representatives of the former separatist regime in Karabakh continues in Azerbaijan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently accused the Azerbaijani side of using prohibited means to extract testimonies from the defendants. “The Armenian Prime Minister’s claims are completely unfounded and utterly absurd,” stated Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response. Political analyst Haji Namazov argues that the use of psychotropic substances would be illogical. “It’s already clear that the accused led a regime engaged in armed conflict against the legitimate authorities of Azerbaijan and its people. What more needs to be said?” he remarked.
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Statement by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“The claims made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in an interview with Public Television on January 25, alleging the use of psychotropic substances against representatives of the separatist regime to provoke regional escalation, are completely unfounded and utterly absurd.”
As reported by Report, this was stated in a comment by Ayhan Hajizadeh, head of the press service department of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding the Armenian Prime Minister’s remarks.
“The rights and responsibilities of the accused were duly ensured and explained, with the entire trial process and testimonies properly documented. Allegations of mistreatment of prisoners in Azerbaijan have been independently investigated, including by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and these claims were found to be false.
It is evident that such statements from Armenia highlight how uneasy the political leadership of that country feels about the ongoing trial of individuals accused of war crimes—individuals they once openly supported with every means to continue acts of aggression against Azerbaijan.
No one has forgotten how the Prime Minister of Armenia, who verbally acknowledges Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, publicly endorsed the puppet regime in our territory and congratulated the separatist junta on its ‘independence’ on September 2, 2023, just weeks before its representatives were held accountable by Azerbaijan.
The state responsibility of Armenia as an occupying and aggressive nation, along with a series of its unlawful actions, remains an undeniable fact. Therefore, holding those accused of such actions accountable is a matter of justice that cannot be undermined by political manipulation,” stated Ayhan Hajizadeh.
Trials are ongoing
On January 27, the trial of representatives of the former separatist regime in Karabakh continued in Baku.
According to Report, during the previous court session, the defendant Arayik Harutyunyan, accused of numerous crimes, stated that he had no health issues.
At the hearing, most defense lawyers filed motions to replace pre-trial detention with house arrest. However, unlike the others, Harutyunyan and his lawyer did not request a transfer to house arrest.
The prosecutor opposed these motions, citing the defendants’ profiles, the severity and nature of the charges, and the risk that altering the detention measure could hinder the impartiality of the judicial process.
Representatives of the victims, including Rufat Mammadov, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers’ office speaking on behalf of Azerbaijan, also urged the court to reject the motions for house arrest and keep the defendants in custody.
The trial of Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan, accused of violating the laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing terrorism, and other charges under Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, also continues today.
According to APA, the hearing is taking place at the administrative building of the Baku Military Court within the Baku Court Complex, presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev.
During the preliminary hearing, which began on January 17, Ruben Vardanyan requested additional time to review the case materials.
“Although R. Vardanyan was given sufficient time during the pre-trial investigation to familiarize himself with the criminal case materials in a language he understands and to prepare his defense, the court, considering the defendant’s request, decided to grant the motion and allowed him an additional 10 days to review the case documents. The prosecution also did not object to providing the accused with more time for this purpose,” the official statement said.
Expert opinion
Political analyst Haji Namazov believes that those on trial are individuals who committed grave crimes punishable by the harshest measures worldwide:
“We are witnessing a historic trial in Baku, where justice is being served. Seated in the defendant’s dock are individuals involved in numerous crimes against the Azerbaijani people and statehood over several decades.
Naturally, the Armenian side is trying to portray the former leaders of the abolished separatist regime—following its military defeat—as prisoners of war, victims of circumstances, and other ‘heart-wrenching’ labels. But this means nothing if one even briefly examines the backgrounds of the accused.
These are individuals who committed serious crimes punishable with the utmost severity in every corner of the world. There is no country on Earth that would turn a blind eye to those who declared a puppet regime on a portion of a sovereign state, created armed formations, waged war against the legitimate representatives of that state with the support of a neighbouring country, carried out genocide against the local population of a different ethnicity, and forcibly expelled hundreds of thousands of people from their homes simply because of their ethnic background.
It should be noted that the list of defendants is incomplete. Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who once took pride in expelling Azerbaijanis from Armenia and Karabakh in the early 1990s, as well as Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan—leaders of the separatist regime who later headed Armenia—and several others currently wanted and hiding in Armenia, must also face justice in Azerbaijan.
As for Nikol Pashinyan’s claims that he has intelligence suggesting the use of prohibited methods to extract confessions from the defendants, these allegations are utterly baseless. It is already clear that the accused led a regime engaged in armed conflict against the legitimate authorities of Azerbaijan and its people. What more is there to add? Over three decades, official Baku has accumulated an overwhelming body of evidence of these individuals’ horrific crimes, making the use of any other methods entirely unnecessary.”
