Arayik Harutyunyan
The military court in Baku has sentenced Arayik Harutyunyan and several of his subordinates to life imprisonment for their actions in Nagorno-Karabakh. This list also includes former ministers and high-profile officials, such as former Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan, former parliamentary speaker David Ishkhanyan, as well as David Manukyan, who headed the army, and David Babayan, who served as foreign minister. Two former presidents of the NKR — Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Saakyan — received 20 years in prison.
The charges against them include preparation and waging of aggressive war, war crimes, genocide, terrorism and its financing, as well as violent seizure of power. All defendants refused to admit their guilt.
The leadership of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was detained at the end of 2023 as a result of a military operation conducted by Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh, where the majority of Armenians live, declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991. During the conflict of 1992-1993, this territory came under the control of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. As a result of military actions in the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan captured part of the territories of the NKR. In 2023, after another military operation, the region completely came under Azerbaijan's control, and the NKR was dissolved, leading to a mass exodus of the Armenian population.
On August 8, in Washington, with the assistance of then-President Donald Trump, a meeting took place where Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an agreement on peace and the establishment of interstate relations. However, the peace treaty has not yet been signed. Azerbaijan insists on amendments to the Armenian constitution regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, while Yerevan hopes to conclude a peace agreement in the coming months.
