Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that his government was approaching the sham trials of former Artsakh leaders in Baku with caution, despite what he called the “disturbing scenes” he had observed in the proceedings.
The trial of Artsakh’s three former presidents and other government officials began in a Baku military court last Friday, while, on the same day, the trial of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan kicked off. Vardanyan is being tried separately and faces more than 45 charges brought by Azerbaijani prosecutors.
In response to a question from opposition Armenia bloc lawmaker, Lilit Galstyan, Pashinyan told parliament on Wednesday that his government has “always kept the issue of Armenian captives illegally held in Azerbaijan on its diplomatic agenda and within diplomatic contacts.”
“The information we have learned and the scenes we have seen are disturbing. However, I must state that we are approaching this situation with the priority of doing no harm. This issue remains present in our diplomatic contacts, on our diplomatic agenda, and we will continue working in this direction to achieve results. Our primary task is to avoid harm and focus on achieving concrete outcomes,” Pashinyan explained.
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.
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.
