The sham trial of Artsakh leaders resumed on Tuesday in a Baku military court, with defense lawyers representing former Artsakh presidents and other government officials petitioning the court to allow their clients to enter house arrest instead of detention in prison.
The Azerbaijani press reported of the development during the second day of the trial, which began on Friday with the former Artsakh leaders being paraded into the courtroom.
No explanation was given about what the state appointed defense attorneys petition for “house arrest” would entail, given that none of the former Artsakh leaders live in Baku.
Artsakh’s former state minister Ruben Vardanyan, who was taken captive at the same time as the other leaders in September 2023, is being tried separately.
Vardanyan’s trial also began Friday, with the court issuing a continuance until January 27 so that Vardanyan and his state-appointed defense team can review the more than 42 charges levied against him by Azerbaijani prosecutors. If convicted, Vardanyan could be sentenced to life in prison.
The court said that a ruling about the house arrest petition will be made on January 27, the same day Vardanyan’s trial is set to resume in a different courtroom in the same building.
In a statement issued over the weekend, Amnesty International called on the international community to closely monitor the trials.
“The international community must closely monitor this high-profile case, to ensure Ruben Vardanyan’s fair trial rights and justice,” Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said in a statement.
“The Azerbaijani authorities claim they have put Ruben Vardanyan on trial to ensure accountability for crimes of which they accused him. But by denying him his fair trial rights, they are doing the exact opposite of justice. Authorities must uphold and ensure the fair trial rights of Ruben Vardanyan,” Struthers said.
“Ruben Vardanyan has raised serious accusations of human rights violations which include ill-treatment in detention, being coerced to sign falsified case materials and the opportunity to prepare his defense. Authorities must promptly, thoroughly, independently, impartially and effectively investigate these grave accusations and bring to justice those suspected to be responsible,” the Amnesty International official added.
Azerbaijani forces captured and detained Artsakh’s former presidents Arkady Ghukasian, Bako Sahakian and Arayik Harutyunyan in September 2023 after launching a brutal attack on Artsakh that forcibly displaced its Armenian population. Also captured and detained were Artsakh’s former foreign minister David Vardanyan, Artsakh’s Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, as well as high-ranking officials of the Artsakh Army, Levon Mnatsakanyan and David Manukyan.
