A court in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, has sentenced a civilian from Nagorno Karabakh to 15 years in prison on fabricated war crimes charges. Vagif Khachatryan is one of a number of civilians taken hostage by Azerbaijan before and following its military takeover of the Armenian Christian region in September.
Vagif Khachatryan was sentenced following a three-week trial. Screenshot/X
The military court passed sentence on Khachatryan on November 7 following a three-week trial. The 68-year-old who has a heart condition was abducted by Azerbaijani border guards during his medical evacuation on July 29. He was indicted on charges of committing war crimes during the first Armenia-Azerbaijan war in the 1990s.
Khachatryan has maintained his innocence.
In addition to Khachatryan, Azerbaijan is holding a number of hostages seized since its invasion of Nagorno Karabakh in September. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has called on Azerbaijan to release the hostages.
Armenian investigators say that 16 people were abducted from Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijani forces following the two-day military offensive. The hostages include leadership figures.
In a report dated October 31, the Republic of Armenia Investigative Committee said that over 200 military personnel and civilians had died as a result of Azerbaijan’s offensive against the Armenian Christian enclave. A further 42 people – 12 civilians and 30 servicemen – count as missing. While some of these are likely dead, others are believed to be in Azerbaijani hands.
“At the current stage of investigation there are data on the abduction of 16 persons - six servicemen and 10 civilians,” the committee said. “The Republic of Azerbaijan has confirmed the fact that only nine out of the 16 people are under their control,” it continued, adding that “appropriate actions are being taken regarding the others.”
Eight serving or former officials in the government of the Republic of Artsakh, as Nagorno Karabakh was officially known, are being held in Baku. Some have already appeared in court to answer criminal charges, including that of sponsoring terrorism.
Those indicted include businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, a former state minister; three former presidents; the former foreign minister David Babayan; and the former deputy minister of defense Davit Manukyan.
Levon Mnatsakanyan, a former defense minister who commanded the army from 2015 to 2018, has been charged with committing torture. Unlike with the other political detainees, Azerbaijan has released no video footage of Mnatsakanyan, fueling speculation that he may have been killed.
On November 2, Azerbaijan announced that it was also holding Madat Babayan, a 71-year-old shepherd who was reported missing following the Azerbaijani offensive on September 19. The State Security Service of Azerbaijan claims that Babayan accuses him of being involved in the mass killing of civilians in the first Nagorno Karabakh war in 1992.
The whereabouts of a former head of the Artsakh National Security Service, General Arshavir Gharamyan, are unknown. There has been no confirmation from Azerbaijan that it is holding him in detention.
