Baku, September 05, 2025 – The Europe Today: The Baku Military Court on September 4 continued open hearings in the criminal case against citizens of the Republic of Armenia, including former separatist leaders Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others. The defendants face charges of crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, genocide, terrorism, financing of terrorism, forcible seizure of power, and other grave violations stemming from Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan.
The proceedings, chaired by Judge Zeynal Agayev with Judges Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev, ensured the presence of defense lawyers and interpreters for the accused. Victims, their legal heirs, and prosecutors also attended.
The session continued with the reading of preliminary testimonies and investigative documents of several defendants, including Garik Martirosyan, Gurgen Stepanyan, Madat Babayan, Melikset Pashayan, David Allahverdiyan, Vasili Beqlaryan, and Erik Ghazaryan. Their testimonies detailed involvement in armed units, participation in combat operations across Azerbaijani territories, and receipt of payments and orders from Armenian authorities.
Particularly harrowing were the testimonies of accused Madat Babayan, who admitted his participation in the 1992 Khojaly massacre. He described indiscriminate attacks on Azerbaijani civilians, artillery bombardments, looting, and atrocities committed under the command of Armenian military leaders, leaving hundreds of civilians dead.
The court also reviewed statements regarding Armenian armed groups’ use of Soviet military equipment, looting in Khojaly, and continued hostilities in Aghdara, Fuzuli, Khojavend, and other regions throughout the early 1990s, as well as testimonies concerning the 44-day war in 2020 and illegal armed deployments up to September 2023.
Fifteen defendants are charged under numerous articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, including Article 100 (waging a war of aggression), Article 103 (genocide), Article 105 (extermination), Article 107 (forced displacement), Article 113 (torture), Article 214 (terrorism), Article 218 (creation of a criminal organization), Article 278 (forcible seizure of power), and others.
According to prosecutors, the crimes were committed under the leadership and participation of senior Armenian officials, military commanders, and members of illegal armed groups, including Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Samvel Babayan, Seyran Ohanyan, and Vitali Balasanyan, among others.
The trial will resume on September 5.
