On September 22, the trial of the illegally detained military-political leaders of Artsakh continued in Baku under the chairmanship of Judge Zeynal Aghayev of the Baku Military Court.
Only the Azerbaijani state and government-controlled media are present at the trial. It is not possible to verify from independent sources the statements attributed to the Armenian defendants.
According to Azerbaijan’s state news agency AzerTac, during the court session, the lawyer of Artsakh’s fourth president, Arayik Harutyunyan, filed a motion for a partial review of evidence due to the large number of documents read out in court. Harutyunyan supported the motion, and none of the other defense lawyers, “victims,” their representatives, or prosecutors objected. The court accepted the motion.
The lawyer of Artsakh’s third president, Bako Sahakyan, requested copies of his client’s testimony for review. The judge said they could contact the court secretary to obtain the documents. The examination of case materials then continued.
Former Deputy Commander of the Defense Army David Manukyan asked the court to summon Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as a witness or to ensure his participation in the trial via video link.
Former Foreign Minister David Babayan requested that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, particularly Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, as well as Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, be summoned as witnesses. “These people know us; we have had direct contact with them. They would be very good witnesses,” he added.
David Ishkhanyan, the last speaker of Artsakh’s parliament, petitioned the court to summon six Russian generals who had previously commanded peacekeeping forces stationed in Azerbaijan: Generals Muradov, Kosobokov, Anashkin, Volkov, Lentsov, and Kulakov.
“I have several questions for them. Did they have direct or indirect contact with these 15 people here? I repeat—direct or indirect. I believe the court will also have questions for them. Even if it is not possible, you can arrange their participation via video link,” he said.
Commenting on the motions, Vusal Aliyev, senior assistant to the Prosecutor General, stated that the documents submitted by the “defendants” were under review. He added that the individuals requested to appear had no connection to the charges currently under consideration and therefore did not need to be questioned as witnesses.
The judge rejected the motions, explaining that the defense had not clarified which specific circumstances required examination, their significance, or their relation to the charges.
The trial continued with the study of documents. Alongside the documents, photographs related to the “criminal case” were presented.
Given that the trial also touched upon events of 1991–1992, state prosecutor Fuad Musayev filed a motion requesting that a media interview given by Armenia’s former deputy defense minister Manvel Grigoryan be admitted as evidence. The court granted the motion.
During the session, David Ishkhanyan also requested a private meeting with his lawyer. The court approved this motion as well.
The trial is scheduled to continue on September 25.