Baku, August 25, AZERTAC

A public court hearing continued on August 25 regarding the criminal cases against citizens of the Republic of Armenia, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others, who are accused of committing crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, including the preparation and conduct of an aggressive war, genocide, violation of the laws and customs of war, as well as terrorism, financing of terrorism, forcible seizure and retention of power, and numerous other crimes as a result of Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan.

The trial, held at the Baku Military Court under the chairmanship of Judge Zeynal Agayev, with judges Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (reserve judge Gunel Samadova), ensured that each accused person was provided with a translator in their preferred language and defense lawyers.

The hearing was attended by the accused, their defense attorneys, some of the victims, their legal heirs and representatives, as well as prosecutors defending the state’s accusations.

Judge Zeynal Aghayev introduced the judicial panel, the prosecutors defending the state’s accusations, the translators, and others to the victims participating in the trial for the first time, and explained their rights and obligations as stipulated by law.

The hearing continued with the testimonies of the victims.

In his testimony, Victim Sahib Asgarov was forced to leave Kalbajar in 1993 as a result of attacks by Armenian armed forces. He noted that some of his relatives were killed and wounded as a result of the attacks on the city. Responding to questions from Nasir Bayramov, Head of the Department of Public Prosecution Defense of the Prosecutor General's Office, Asgarov said that when the residents of Kalbajar left the city, they was not provided with a humanitarian corridor.

The victim also emphasized that he witnessed the “Tunnel” tragedy in Kalbajar. In his testimony, he also stated that there were mercenaries there, attracted by the enemy from abroad. "They destroyed our cemeteries and took our cultural, historical and religious monuments," added S. Asgarov.

Responding to the question of the state prosecutor Tarana Mamedova, victim Sabir Guliyev noted that he is a resident of Goytala village of Shusha. Guliyev said that the city was occupied by Armenian armed forces in early May 1992, and thus he became an IDP. "My cousins Tahir and Rafael Guliyev were killed. Tahir Guliyev's body has not yet been found," he added.

"During the occupation of Shusha, the Armenian side did not provide a humanitarian corridor for the civilian population. When we passed through Lachin, we were exposed to artillery strike from the Gorus side. An old woman was killed there," said the victim, adding that when he visited his father's grave following the liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories from occupation, he saw that his father’s grave was destroyed and several gravestones were torn down.

"They deprived us of our property, our farms, our wealth. They destroyed our villages so that the residents couldn't even find their homes. They left our lands in such a terrible state of disrepair," he noted.

Answering a question from Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev, victim Almaz Aghayeva said that she and her family lived in a house on the 5th Parallel Street in the city of Khankendi. In September 1988, unable to withstand the pressure, they moved to Shusha: “I worked at the Karabakh Silk Factory. Armenians were brought and driven to Khankendi, and Azerbaijanis were beaten. Unable to withstand such pressure, we, experiencing great suffering and pain, reached Shusha through the forest, passing on trails. In 1992, we were forcibly displaced from Shusha. My neighbor Zohra Guliyeva was killed there. My father was also wounded. We lived in the basement. They attacked us with artillery fire.”

In her testimony, Victim Sevda Hasanova stated that she was forcibly displaced from the Fuzuli district due to the Armenian armed forces’ attacks in August 1993. Responding to a question from public prosecutor Fuad Musayev, Sevda Hasanova stated: “They engaged in indiscriminate attacks against both the civilian population and the military. They opened fire on our neighbor’s yard with a Grad rocket, and the girl’s body was torn to pieces.”

“I witnessed the destruction of graves in cemeteries when I returned to our lands after they were liberated from occupation,” the victim then added.

In response to a question from Tugay Rahimli, Assistant to the Prosecutor General for Special Assignments, victim Araz Jabrayilov said that on September 19, 2023, they were ambushed in a forest near Khankendi and were injured as a result of gunfire.

In his testimony, victim Nadir Mammadov said that he was forcibly displaced from Zangilan and was injured as a result of attacks by the Armenian armed forces in late October 1993: “The civilian population was not given any humanitarian corridor to leave the region, residents were being fired upon. We survived by crossing the Araz River.”

He showed a picture of their house destroyed by the Armenian armed forces and said that they were only able to live in the house they built in 1991 for two years: “We demand compensation for the damage done to our houses, mosques, and cemeteries. Our graves in the cemeteries were also destroyed.”

Responding to questions from state prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev, victim Nariman Alasgarov stated in his testimony that he was forcibly displaced from Zangilan due to the Armenian armed forces’ attacks. He noted that during the occupation of Zangilan, a man named Bahman, who worked as a postman, was killed by artillery fire in his yard. Within a short period of time, several villages were occupied, and the population was forced to flee barefoot. “They killed Uncle Vali’s family, tied Uncle Ismayil to a tank with his mentally ill son, and dragged him to death. The population was not given a humanitarian corridor. They burned down the villages as soon as they occupied them.”

Alasgarov added that when he returned to Zangilan after the liberation from occupation, he saw that not a single stone was left in the villages and that the cemeteries had also been destroyed.

The victims also answered questions from the accused, including the defendants' attorneys, and representatives of the victims.

The trial will continue on August 28.

Fifteen defendants of Armenian origin are accused in the criminal case concerning numerous crimes committed during the aggressive war waged by the Armenian state - including the aforementioned criminal association - on the territory of Azerbaijan, in violation of domestic and international legal norms. These crimes were committed for the purpose of military aggression against Azerbaijan and were carried out under the direct leadership and participation of the Armenian state, officials of its state institutions, its armed forces, and illegal armed formations, through their written and verbal orders, instructions, and guidelines; material, technical, and personnel support; centralized management; as well as under strict control and under the leadership and direct or indirect participation of Robert Sedraki Kocharyan, Serzh Azati Sargsyan, Vazgen Mikaeli Manukyan, Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan, Samvel Andraniki Babayan, Vitali Mikaeli Balasanyan, Zori Hayki Balayan, Seyran Musheghi Ohanyan, Arshavir Surenovich Garamyan, Monte Charles Melkonyan, and others.

The following individuals - Arayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan, Arkadi Arshaviri Ghukasyan, Bako Sahaki Sahakyan, Davit Rubeni Ishkhanyan, David Azatini Manukyan, Davit Klimi Babayan, Levon Henrikovich Mnatsakanyan, Vasili Ivani Beglaryan, Erik Roberti Ghazaryan, Davit Nelsoni Allahverdiyan, Gurgen Homeri Stepanyan, Levon Romiki Balayan, Madat Arakelovich Babayan, Garik Grigori Martirosyan, and Melikset Vladimiri Pashayan - are being charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Article 100 (planning, preparing, initiating, and waging a war of aggression); Article 102 (attacking persons or organizations enjoying international protection); Article 103 (genocide); Article 105 (extermination of the population); Article 106 (enslavement); Article 107 (deportation or forced displacement of population); Article 109 (persecution); Article 110 (enforced disappearance of persons); Article 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law); Article 113 (torture); Article 114 (mercenary service); Article 115 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare); Article 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict); Article 118 (military robbery); Article 120 (intentional murder); Article 192 (illegal entrepreneurship); Article 214 (terrorism); Article 214-1 (financing terrorism); Article 218 (creation of a criminal organization); Article 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, and possession of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and devices); Article 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security); Article 277 (assassination of a state official or public figure); Article 278 (forcible seizure and retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state); Article 279 (creation of armed groups not provided for by law); and additional articles.