Baku, July 15, 2025 – The Europe Today: The open court hearing concerning the criminal cases against several Armenian citizens, including former separatist leaders, resumed on July 15 in Baku. The trial addresses numerous serious charges stemming from Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan, including war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and terrorism.
The session, presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev, along with Judges Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (with Gunel Samadova as reserve judge), ensured due process by providing interpretation services in the defendants’ native language and guaranteeing legal representation. The hearing was attended by the accused, their legal counsel, victims, their legal heirs and representatives, and state prosecutors.
The court introduced the judicial panel, prosecution team, and interpreters to the victims participating for the first time, informing them of their rights and responsibilities.
Testimonies were heard from numerous victims detailing the extensive torture, unlawful captivity, and war atrocities committed by Armenian forces during various periods of the decades-long conflict.
Victims such as Farman Mammadov, Maharram Najafov, and Suleyman Huseynov recounted harrowing experiences of being taken hostage during the Khojaly genocide and the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. Many witnesses described beatings, starvation, and psychological trauma. Some, including Valeh Huseynov, testified to acts of torture such as the pulling of fingernails, breaking of fingers, and burning of limbs.
Testimony was also heard from victims of the First Karabakh War, the occupation of Kalbajar, Aghdam, and Fuzuli, and more recent events during the 2020 Patriotic War. Soldiers Nahid Hamidov and Nurlan Alizadeh testified about torture under captivity following the ceasefire, including electrocution and severe beatings, supported by video evidence shown in court.
Multiple victims also described mass detentions, enforced labor, attacks on civilians, and the destruction of cultural identity, further substantiating the pattern of systematic abuse.
Fifteen Armenian-origin individuals, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, and David Babayan, are standing trial under a broad range of charges in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including:
- Article 100 (planning and waging a war of aggression)
- Article 103 (genocide)
- Article 105 (extermination of the population)
- Article 113 (torture)
- Article 214 (terrorism)
- Article 218 (creation of a criminal organization)
- Article 278 (forcible seizure of power)
- And over 20 additional charges, including violations of international humanitarian law, illegal detention, and military robbery
These crimes are alleged to have been committed under the leadership or direction of key Armenian figures, including former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, military commanders, and senior separatist leaders.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has emphasized that these acts were coordinated and executed through institutional support, including material, technical, and human resources, by official Armenian state structures and illegal armed groups.
The trial is set to continue on July 17, as Azerbaijani judicial authorities seek accountability for grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights norms committed on Azerbaijani soil.
This landmark trial underscores Azerbaijan’s commitment to justice, truth, and the protection of victims’ rights, and serves as a critical step in addressing the legacy of conflict and impunity in the region.
