Yesterday, the Baku Military Court continued the open hearings in the high-profile trial of Armenian nationals Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others, accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, terrorism, illegal armed group formation, genocide, and the planning and waging of an aggressive war during Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan.
Presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev, alongside Judges Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (with reserve judge Gunel Samedova), the court provided interpreters and defence lawyers for each accused individual.
Arayik Harutyunyan, former leader of the separatist regime, testified that key military titles—such as lieutenant general rank for Jalal Harutyunyan—were awarded not by the illegal entity but by Armenia’s president, confirming the absence of a self-sustained military command. He admitted the “military police” and “prosecutor’s office” operated under Armenian authority and that court processes were conducted in Armenia’s Syunik region, not in Karabakh.
Asked about post-war integration of local Armenians, Harutyunyan acknowledged the presence of radical elements among the population and admitted a sharp loss of public trust led to his resignation. He denied being the subject of an assassination attempt but hinted at threats caught on video.
Harutyunyan also confirmed that, as the so-called leader, his subordinates were limited to internal security bodies like “police” and “national security services,” not military units, all of which were under Armenian command.
Later, Arkadi Ghukasyan took the stand and confirmed that during his time as a leader, economic activities—such as the operation of the mining company “Base Metals”—were conducted in occupied Azerbaijani territories, with copper extracted from the Heyvali mine between 2001 and 2012. He identified the company’s director as Artur Mkrtumyan and its owner as Valery Mejlumyan, with most of the copper being exported to Armenia.
Ghukasyan also spoke of Swiss-Armenian businessman Vartan Sirmakes, who ran banks and enterprises in the occupied territories, as well as the Lebanese-Armenian owners of “Karabakh Telecom,” which invested in the illegal regime.
He recounted an October 2020 meeting in a bunker with Harutyunyan and Sahakyan, where they discussed urgent appeals to Armenia’s leadership to stop the war. Ghukasyan and Sahakyan later met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan with the same plea.
The accused also confirmed his role in the “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund’s Board of Trustees, alongside Armenian presidents, prime ministers, and diaspora leaders, who raised funds through telethons in the US, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. These funds were used for building schools and roads linking Armenia with the occupied regions.
Importantly, Ghukasyan acknowledged a ten-year resettlement plan adopted in 2001, aiming to populate the occupied Azerbaijani territories with Armenians. A map found during a search of his home—showing the scale of illegal settlements—was examined in court.
The trial will continue on 3 July.
A total of 15 individuals, including Harutyunyan, Ghukasyan, Sahakyan, Babayan, Mnatsakanyan, and others, are being prosecuted under numerous articles of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, including:
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Article 100 (Aggressive War)
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Article 103 (Genocide)
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Article 105 (Mass Murder)
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Article 114 (Mercenarism)
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Article 214 (Terrorism)
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Article 278 (Violent Seizure of Power)
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and many others.
The indictment outlines systemic support from Armenian state bodies, military leadership, and diaspora networks in funding and organising the illegal occupation and related war crimes.
