Baku, October 13, AZERTAC

The open court hearing on 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 crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes—including the preparation and conduct of 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 resulting from Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan, continued on October 13.

During the court session held at the Baku Military Court, presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev with a panel consisting of Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (reserve judge Gunel Samadova), each of the accused individuals was provided with an interpreter in their native language, as well as legal representatives for their defense.

The session was attended by the accused individuals, their defense counsel, a portion of the victims, their legal heirs and representatives, as well as prosecutors defending the state prosecution.

The court hearing continued with the announcement of several documents.

One of the documents revealed that during the period of the so-called regime, the “Goyamart” (fight for survival) weekly military TV program was broadcast.

The episodes of the program were monitored and analyzed, the activities of high-ranking Armenian officers serving in the formerly occupied Azerbaijani territories were recorded, aiming to promote the occupation of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and improving the combat readiness of the Armenian armed forces stationed there. The accused Davit Manukyan, serving as a Major general at the time, was one of those high-ranking military officials. According to the episode of the Goyamart program, broadcast on May 16, 2020, "exemplary exercises" were held in the divisions across the largest armed formation of the Armenian armed forces on the "forms and methods of firing small arms in defensive combat" and "application of a grenade launcher platoon in defensive combat" in the formerly occupied Azerbaijani territories. The exercises were overseen by Lieutenant General Jalal Harutyunyan, commander of the Armenian armed formation, and his first deputy, Major General David Manukyan, who gave "necessary instructions."

Another document announced in court highlighted the establishment and activity of the “Krung” organization.

Other documents included facts about the establishment and structuring of the Armenian Ministry of Defense. According to the papers, on January 28, 1992, by the decision of the Armenian government, the Separate Defense Committee under the Council of Ministers was abolished, with all of its property being transferred to the newly established Ministry of Defense. Vazgen Sargsyan was appointed as the Minister of Defense.

Later, the court proceedings witnessed the announcement of a number of secret documents of the Armenian armed forces and their images, along with other files. The documents revealed that various instructions were given to different structures of the Armenian armed forces, as well as the "army" of the so-called regime (the largest armed formation of the Armenian armed forces - ed.) to be carried out in the formerly occupied Azerbaijani territories.

For instance, the secret order No. 0119, dated 04.05.2016, issued by Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian armed Forces, Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov, revealed that the commander of the so-called “army” of the illegal regime was tasked to provide the anti-tank ditches and roads of the "6th defensive region" with earth layers and to use them as average trenches and defensive lines, to link the anti-tank ditches and roads of the "9th defensive region" with each other, and to camouflage the equipment.

The court also disclosed the joint secret order No. 016 dated 24.12.2016, issued in Yerevan by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian armed forces, Lieutenant General Movses Hakopyan, and the Chief of the Intelligence Department of the General Staff, Colonel V. Sargsyan, as well as a photo of the document. According to the secret document, a trip of the working group of the 24th Special Purpose Separate Radio Technical Regiment via the Yerevan-Khankendi-Aghdara-Sugovushan-Khankendi-Yerevan route was organized on January 10-14, 2017, to inspect the territory in the northeast direction of the so-called "army" and select the area for the radio-electronic reconnaissance (REK) units. The Chief of the Intelligence Department of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces was entrusted to oversee the implementation of the order.

The court also disclosed and presented confidential order No. 0261, a combat mission issued by Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Lieutenant General A.Davtyan, dated 24.09.2019 and drawn up in Yerevan.

The document reveals that the Chief of Armaments of the Armenian Armed Forces was instructed to supply the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th “defense districts” of the so-called “army” with 20 sets of 82-millimetre M-69 mortars and 26 sets of 82-millimetre BM-37 mortars, instead of 46 sets of 120-millimetre M-75 (M-74) systems.

The same order directed the so-called “army commander” to arrange the transfer of these weapons and ammunition to the listed “defense regions” and to report the results to the Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces within five days.

The court also released secret combat order No. 0671, signed by the “1st Deputy Chief of Staff of the Command” of the so-called “army” (Major General Kamo Vardanyan), titled “On the destruction of enemy settlements by fire” and dated 25.09.2020.

The order instructed commanders of the formation and of the military unit in Khankendi to target the settlements specified in the order by September 28, 2020.

Commanders were further ordered to calculate firing positions and include them in combat documents. They were to clarify combat calculations and prepare a single BM-21 system (YARS) in artillery units specifically for firing G-2000 missiles with a 40 km range.

The order required keeping 40 of the 80 missiles intended for that system in the transport-loading vehicle of the combat vehicle that would conduct constant fire. The other 40 missiles were to be loaded into the combat vehicle before it deployed in combat formation. The BM-21 YARS was to be equipped with interchangeable tools.

The list of settlements designated for fire destruction included the cities of Mingachevir and Naftalan, and the regions of Tartar, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Aghjabedi, among others, as well as a number of additional settlements and villages.

According to the documents presented, a directive was also issued to destroy Azerbaijani settlements that were not under occupation before the Patriotic War and that were inhabited by civilians. The directive named exact coordinates of target settlements and specified the types of missiles to be used.

It was stated that the coordinates listed as targets were checked by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan. That verification confirmed the coordinates correspond to settlements in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The court proceedings will continue on October 16.

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, David 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.