The trials against the armenian prisoners of war have been on-going behind closed doors

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THE TRIALS AGAINST THE ARMENIAN PRISONERS OF WAR HAVE BEEN ON-GOING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Armenian prisoners of war

Analysis of violation of law during 13 Armenian prisoners of war judicial proceedings

Baku Grave Crimes Court

Case №1(101)-1256/2021 

23 July 2021

Presiding judge: Azad Madjidov

Judges: Zeynal Agayev, Sabuhi Huseynov

Defendants: Andranik Mikayelyan, Setrak Soghomonyan, Rafik Karapetyan, Felix Grigoryan, Mels Ambardanyan, Manuk Martoyan, Arsen Vardanyan, Arman Dilanyan, Hrayr Tadevosyan, Vahagen Bahrikyan, Qurqen Goloyan, Vagarshak Maloyan, Sasun Yeghiazaryan

Defenders: Elkhan Khudaverdiyev, Nazrin Sultanova, Nariman Aliyev, Elman Agayev, Rasim Ahmadov, Shohrat Allahmanov, Geybulla Javadov, Vugar Huseynzade, Ramin Sadikhzade, Radmila Abilova, Fizuli Huseynov, Jabbar Bayramov, Vugar Mammadov

Public prosecutors: Prosecutors of the Division for the Defense of Public Prosecutions in Grave Crimes Courts of the Department for the Protection of Public Prosecutions of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan Parviz Mirhashimov and Babakhan Hasanaliyev

In September 2020, there were intense hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Karabakh region and its surroundings. As a result of the 44-day war, Azerbaijani soldiers liberated several towns and many Karabakh villages as well as the surrounding territories.   Dozens of Armenian soldiers were captured in the course of military operations and were convicted and sentenced to the various terms of imprisonment.

Andranik Mikayelyan, born on 20 April 1998, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman, who is currently detained in the Baku Investigative Isolator of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1 (Terrorism, committed on preliminary arrangement by group of persons, by organized group or criminal community), 214.2.3. (Terrorism, committed with application of fire-arms or subjects used as a weapon), 228.3 (Illegal purchase, transfer, selling, storage, transportation and carrying of fire-arms, accessories to it, supplies or explosives, committed by organized group), 279.2. (The attack on enterprises, establishments, and organizations or on separate persons by structure of formations or groups which is provided by articles 279.1 and 279.1-1 of the present Code) and 318.2 (Crossing of protected frontier of the Azerbaijan Republic, committed on preliminary arrangement by group of persons or organized group either with application of violence or with threat of its application) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Setrak Soghomonyan, born on 30 August 1995, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Rafik Karapetyan, born on 11 July 1992, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Felix Grigoryan, born on 23 December 1996, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Mels Ambardanyan, born on 21 January 1997, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic

Manuk Martoyan, born on 1 April 1999, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Arsen Vardanyan, born on 30 January 1998, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Arman Dilanyan, born on 24 May 1989, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Hrayr Tadevosyan, born on 16 April 1996, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Vahagen Bahrikyan, born on 11 May 1983, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Qurqen Goloyan, born on 30 January 1998, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Vagarshak Maloyan, born on 6 December 1992, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Sasun Yeghiazaryan, born on 22 July 1991, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, a military serviceman who is currently detained in the Baku Detention Center of the Penitentiary Service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice, was charged under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 228.3, 279.2 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

According to the investigation, on 27 November 2020, the accused, not having the appropriate documents on them, illegally crossed the border of the Azerbaijan Republic as part of an organized criminal group. The accused had illegally purchased, carried and stored weapons, ammunition, explosive devices and military equipment until the 13th of December 2020.

The defendant Andranik Mikayelyan, who was interrogated in the course of the investigation, pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him and testified that from 2017 to 2019 he had been serving in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. During the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia he was called up for military service and sent to Jabrayil City. During the war from, he was in Jabrayil from the October 3 to 15, 2020.  On 15 October 2020, Azerbaijani military opened fire on the Armenian military positions forcing the Armenians to return to Armenia. For some time, A. Mikayelyan was in hiding; however, the military police found and brought him back. On 27 November 2020, Andranik Mikayelyan, as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, was sent to the front to defend the Armenian border. Then they were brought to Karabakh. In addition to the local military, there were Russian peacekeeping forces. He testified that they had legally obtained their weapons to defend Armenian territory, and they had been told that they were on the territory of Armenia. Some 13 days later, they were said that they had finished their service and had to return home. Mikayelyan testified that when the soldiers had been returning, no Armenian military personnel had been found on the spot. Then, they had been encountering with the personnel of the special unit of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces named “Yashma”. A. Mikayelyan testified that they even could not think of meeting up with them. The “Yashma” servicemen told them not to open fire. So, they surrendered their weapons, and the Azerbaijani soldiers brought them to Baku.

Answering the questions of the trial participants, A. Mikayelyan said that he had not been to the front line in Azerbaijan at all after 27 November 2020, he had been serving in Jabrayil and unaware of the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. When the war ended, they were told that if they ever were approached and tried to escape, they would face up to 12 years imprisonment. So, to avoid being arrested, they agreed to go to defend Armenia’s borders on 27 November. A. Mikayelyan also testified that they had been said that Jabrayil was an Armenian territory, and that in case the Azerbaijani military intervened, they should open fire on them.

The defendant, Setrak Soghomonyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in the Goris region of Armenia from 2013 to 2015. On 3 October 2020, in connection with the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, he was summoned to the military commissariat of Armenia and sent to serve in Jabrayil. They were given machine guns. At that time, there was a fierce battle on the territory of Jabrayil, in which the Armenian military personnel took part. They were led by the Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. The Azerbaijani soldiers started firing from the air then. Due to that reason the Armenian servicemen scattered in different directions. On 13-14 October 2020, a few Armenian soldiers escaped from the territory of military actions. After that, they were searched by the Armenian law enforcement bodies. When the war was already over, on 27 November 2020, the military police came to S. Soghomonyan’s house informing him that a criminal case had been opened against him and he had to turn himself in to a military unit in Gyumri. They also told him that if he did not come, he would be arrested. Thus, he went to the front, in order not to be arrested. After that he along with other soldiers were driven to Karabakh. Setrak Soghomonyan had not known where they were until they were told that it was Lachin. S. Soghomonyan testified that he had known that Lachin was Azerbaijani territory, and not the Armenian one. Thirteen days later, they were told that they had completed their assignment and should return home. When they were returning, they did not see any Armenian military personnel on the spot. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ “Yashma” special unit unexpectedly encountered them. The “Yashma” personnel told them not to open fire. They surrendered their weapons, and were driven to Baku.

The defendant, Rafik Karapetyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in the Oktemberyan region of Armenia from 2010 to 2012. On 3 October 2020 in connection with the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia R. Karapetyan was called up for military service. At that time, he was given weapons and brought to Jabrayil. Many Armenian soldiers took part in the military actions. After the end of hostilities, R. Karapetyan returned home. On 27 November 2020, the military police came to his house and told him to go to Gyumri, otherwise he would be arrested. In order to avoid arrest, R. Karapetyan went to Gyumri, where he saw that besides him about 360 other Armenian citizens, conscripted for the service there.

All those people were led by Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. They had not been told that they would go to Karabakh. They were said that they were going to Goris. Thus, the soldiers ended up in Lachin. Some 13 days later, the soldiers were told that they had finished their service and could go home. The soldiers were instructed to go to the place where the food was served. There, however, they did not see any Armenian soldiers. But later, they encountered a special unit of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces called “Yashma.” The “Yashma” officers told them not to open fire. They surrendered their weapons, the “Yashma” officers brought them to Baku.

The defendant, Felix Grigoryan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty near the Sugovushan region of Armenia from 2001 to 2002. On 4 October 2020, in connection with the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Grigoryan was conscripted by the military commissariat of Armenia to serve in Jabrayil. Further, Grigoryan’s testimony was similar to that of the previous defendants.

  1. Grigoryan answering the questions of the process participants said that he had known about the conclusion of the trilateral agreement and the end of the war. Although the war had already ended, they were told that they were going to the Armenian border. There are contradictions between the testimony provided by F.Grigoryan during the investigation and at the trial. In his testimony given by him during the investigation, he testified that the purpose of the military personnel had been to attack the Azerbaijani military, as well as to stand on guard. However, at the trial, Felix Grigoryan testified that his testimony at the investigation stage had been written inaccurately, as at that time he did not understand the provisions of the Azerbaijani criminal legislation. He did not approve the testimony given by him during the investigation, although it was exactly him who signed it.

The defendant, Mels Ambardanyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in the Sugovushan region of Armenia from 2015 to 2017. During the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020, M. Ambardanyan did not take part in the military operations due to his coronavirus illness. However, at the end of the war, on November 27, 2020, he got a summons from the military commissariat, in which he was called to the military commissariat in Gyumri. There, he saw about 300 Armenian citizens, also conscripted for the military service. They were given their weapons and military uniforms. Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan were the leaders. They said to the soldiers that they were going to Goris and not to Karabakh. Then, they were taken to Lachin, of which the soldiers learned only on the road there. Further, M. Ambardanyan’s testimony was similar to that of the previous defendants.

Answering the questions of the trial participants, M. Ambardanyan said that they had been told that they would only replace the soldiers on the border, and that they would be on the Armenian border. The defendant also said that he had not participated in the military actions, they had not had the goal in attacking the Azerbaijani military, and they had not been given an order to open fire.

In the testimony provided by the accused M. Ambardanyan at the investigation, he pleaded guilty to the charges against him. His testimony during the investigation contradicted his testimony at the trial, therefore M. Ambardanyan’s earlier testimony was read out in the course of the trial. The defendant, Manuk Martoyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in Yerevan City of Armenia from 2017 to 2019.

During the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia on 3 October 2020, Manuk Martoyan was brought to Jabrayil. He was given a machine gun. At the time when he was in Jabrayil, there was a fierce fighting, about 200 Armenian military men had been fighting there. Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan headed it. The Azerbaijani army was opening an artillery fire on the territory where they were located. Because of that, the Armenian military were forced to flee in different directions. In about 10 days, Manuk Martoyan made a decision to escape. On 13 October 2020, he and five Armenian soldiers escaped to Goris, Republic of Armenia. Having been hiding there for several days, he arrived to the village of Lanchik with the help of a friend. At that time, he was already being searched by the law enforcement bodies due to his escape. On 27 November 2020, the military policemen came to M. Martoyan’s house, but the war had already ended by that time. The police officers told him that criminal charges had been brought against him. They demanded that M. Martoyan head to a military unit in Gyumri. He consented, in order not to be arrested, even though he knew that the war had ended. There were about 360 Armenian soldiers in the military unit in Gyumri. Although they were told there that they had been going to Goris and not to Karabakh, as a result they were brought to Lachin where they were given automatic rifles. From Lachin, where the Russian peacekeeping forces were stationed, they were brought to the territory between Lachin and Hadrut. Then, together with Arsen Ghazaryan, they climbed up to the mountain and went down the hill. Their goal was to stand on guard and not let anyone pass through. On December 13, 2020, Arsen Ghazaryan, via a telephone call, ordered the soldiers to return and explained how to do it. As they were returning, they ran into the Azerbaijani military. By that time some 40 Armenian soldiers had managed to escape. A total of about 60 soldiers were detained and later brought to Baku

Answering the questions of the trial participants, Manuk Martoyan said that he had not come to Karabakh voluntarily, his task had been to stand on guard at the border and not to let anyone through. M. Martoyan testified that after the end of the war, the people had been sent to Karabakh from military commissariats, they had not been given the order to open fire, on the contrary, they had been ordered not to fire. Despite the fact that they were armed, they did not participate in the military operations. M. Martoyan stated that no psychological or physical pressure was exerted upon him during his arrest. He explained the contradictions between the testimony provided during the investigation and before the court by the fact that at the time he had not understood the provisions of the criminal legislation of Azerbaijan, so he pleaded guilty. For that reason, he did not support that part of the testimony in court.

The defendant, Arsen Vardanyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in the Oktemberyan region of Armenia from 2010 to 2012. On 3 October 2020, during the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Arsen Vardanyan was brought to the mountainous area of Jabrayil. Further, A. Vardanyan’s testimony did not differ from the testimony of other defendants sent to Jabrayil. Answering the questions of the trial participants, Arsen Vardanyan said that no measures of psychological and physical pressure had been exercised against him.

The defendant, Arman Dilanyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in Lusakert City of Armenia from 2007 to 2009. Due to being sick with a coronavirus, he did not participate in the war, which began on 27 September 2020. Upon signing a cessation of hostilities agreement on 10 November 2020, he received a call from the military commissariat and was summoned to the military unit in Gyumri. When he arrived in Gyumri, there were already about 360 military personnel there. The leaders were the Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. The soldiers had been given automatic rifles. Then, they were brought to Lachin. Further, Arman Dilanyan’s testimony did not differ from that of the other defendants brought to Lachin from the military commissariat.

Answering the questions of the trial participants, A. Dilanyan said that he had seen the Russian peacekeepers when they were loaded into the trucks, the Russians had had machine guns, and they had not either said anything or given any order to shoot. Despite the fact that they were armed, they did not take part in the military actions. The Armenian military thought they happened to be on the Armenian border. They were not aware that this was the Azerbaijani territory. Upon being asked about the contradictions in the testimony provided by A. Dilanyan during the investigation and in the court, he replied that he had not been familiar with the provisions of the criminal legislation of Azerbaijan at the time of the investigation. He had not been given an order to shoot at the Azerbaijani military. His words were wrongly recorded in his testimonial in the course of investigation.

The defendant, Hrayr Tadevosyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in Khankendi City of Karabakh from 2014 to 2016. On 27 September 2020, during the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, H. Tadevosyan was brought to Jabrayil as a soldier. He was given a machine gun. At that time, fierce fighting involving many soldiers from his military unit was going on in Jabrayil. The commanders were Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. While fighting, the Azerbaijani military fired artillery at the territory where they were stationed. Due to that reason, the soldiers started running away. He, also frightened, made a decision to run away. On 17 October 2020, about 20 Armenian soldiers managed to run away to the town of Sisiyan within the territory of Goris region of the Republic of Armenia. Having been hiding there for some days, they made it with the help of a relative of one of the servicemen to Gyumri. Because of their escape, they were sought out by the Armenian law enforcement bodies. Then the war came to an end. But despite that, on 25 November 2020, the military police called H. Tadevosyan informing him about the criminal charges against him and demanding him to appear in the military unit in Gyumri. Being afraid of the arrest, H. Tadevosyan arrived to the military unit in the village of Voskehaskhsk of the Republic of Armenia. There were about 100 servicemen, led by Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. They were given machine guns and told they would go to Goris. However, on the way, they were told that they would be taken to Lachin. When they reached Lachin, they had been asleep in the truck for several hours. There they were seen by the Russian peacekeepers, but the officers did not say anything to them. Then the soldiers along with Lieutenant Colonel Arsen Ghazaryan climbed up the mountain and stayed there until 13 December 2020. On 13 December 2020, Ghazaryan ordered them to return. By that time, about 40 soldiers had already fled. A soldier named Kamo said that the Azerbaijani military men had been standing up ahead. When they were detained, they were asked to surrender their weapons, and they obeyed the order. About 60 soldiers were detained, and taken to Baku by trucks.

Answering the questions of the trial participants, H. Tadevosyan said that he had pleaded guilty in the course of the investigation, as at that time he had not been familiar with the provisions of the criminal legislation of Azerbaijan. He also testified that during his arrest and detention, no psychological or physical pressure measures had been applied on him. They were not ordered to shoot or attack the Azerbaijani military. Their task was to stand on guard. G. Tadevosyan said that he had not known that it was the territory of Azerbaijan.

The defendant, Vahagen Bahrikyan, interrogated in the court testified that he was on full-time military service in a unit near Sugovushan from 2001 to 2003. On 4 October 2020, during the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, he was summoned to the military commissariat of Armenia, and from there he was sent to Jabrayil. V. Bahrikyan, as well as other soldiers, was issued a machine gun. At that time, there were fierce battles in Jabrayil, and many soldiers from his military unit had been fighting there. They were led by the Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. The Azerbaijani soldiers opened fire from the air. Because of that Armenian soldier started to disperse in different directions. On 14 October 2020, V. Bahrikyan and others fled from the combat zone and hid in Goris. Having hid for several days, he then reached his house in the village of Azatan. There, he found out that he had been sought by the Armenian law enforcement authorities. On November 27, 2020, when the war had already been over, the military police came to his residence to inform him about the criminal charges against him and demanded his presence at the military unit in the village of Voskeask (Armenia). While there, Vahagen Bahrikyan saw many Armenian citizens called up for the military duty. The soldiers were told that they would be taken to Goris and not to Karabakh. They were given military uniforms and machine guns. Afterwards, the soldiers were brought to Lachin. Furthermore, V. Bahrikyan’s testimony does not differ from the testimony of other defendants.

In response to the process participants’ questions, V. Bahrikyan replied that they had had no intention to commit an armed attack on the Azerbaijani military, they only had been obliged to carry out their service at the post. The defendant also said that his testimony during the investigation had been recorded incorrectly, at the time he was not familiar with the provisions of the Azerbaijani criminal legislation and did not know that he had been on the Azerbaijani territory.

The defendant, Qurqen Goloyan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in the Shamshadin region of Armenia from 2016 to 2018. During the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia on 27 September 2020, Q. Goloyan was summoned to the military commissariat of Armenia, and from there he was sent to Jabrayil. Further, the testimony of G. Goloyan does not differ from the testimonies of other defendants.

To the questions of the process participants Qurqen Goloyan answered that he had not participated in any military actions from 27 November 2020, during his arrest no psychological or physical pressure measures had been applied towards him, either they had not intended an armed attack on the Azerbaijani military and such an order had not been given to them. G. Goloyan has testified that during the investigation he pleaded guilty due to his ignorance of the provisions of the Azerbaijani criminal legislation. He did not know that he had been on the territory of Azerbaijan.

The defendant Vagarshak Maloyan, interrogated in the course of the trial did not plead guilty and testified that he had been serving at the military unit in Agdere (occupied Azerbaijani territory by Armenia) from 2010 to 2012. On 3 October 2020, the military registration and enlistment office called his father and demanded his presence there. His father said his son was not at home. After that, they disconnected the phones and V. Maloyan started hiding. On 25 November 2020, following the end of the war, the military police came to his house and informed him about the criminal charges against him, stating that if he refused to show up at the military registration and enlistment office, he would be arrested. On 27 November 2020, V. Maloyan arrived to the military unit in the village of Voskeask. He along with the other soldiers were given military uniforms and machine guns. They were brought to Lachin but they were not aware of it. Further, the testimony of Vagarshak Maloyan does not differ from the testimonies of the other defendants.

In response to questions posed by the trial participants, Maloyan replied that their goal had been to serve at the post in the Hadrut settlement in Khojavand district. Their mission was not to attack the Azerbaijani military. While detained, no psychological or physical pressure was applied on him. The accused also explained that he pleaded guilty during the investigation because of his ignorance of the Azerbaijani criminal law. The testimony regarding the attack on the Azerbaijani military had been recorded incorrectly. V. Maloyan also testified that even after the end of the war, the Armenian military commissariats kept conscripting people and sending them to Karabakh.

The defendant, Sasun Yeghiazaryan, who was interrogated in the course of the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges and testified that he had been serving his military duty in Pushkin village of the Goris region of Armenia from 2009 to 2011.

On November 27, 2020, the military police came to Sasun Yeghiazaryan’s residence and demanded him to go to the military unit in Gyumri. If he refused, he would be sentenced to 9 or 10 years imprisonment. At the military commissariat, Sasun Yeghiazaryan saw many Armenian citizens conscripted for military service. He, along with the other soldiers, was brought to Lachin. Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan were in charge. Further, S. Yeghiazaryan’s testimony did not differ from the others’ testimonies. On 13 December 2020, Sasun Yeghiazaryan along with other soldiers were detained by the Azerbaijani military and brought to Baku.

When asked by the trial participants, S. Yeghiazaryan answered that the military commissariats in various cities of Armenia were calling to the citizens, who were drafted to serve in Karabakh. He testified that no psychological or physical pressure had been applied on them during their detention. No orders had been given to them to carry out an armed attack on the Azerbaijani military. They supposed to stand at the post, S. Yeghiazaryan indicated that he had not participated in any military actions.

However, throughout the investigation period, Sasun Yeghiazaryan testified that they had been ordered to shoot at anyone who would attempt to cross the border, that Lieutenant Colonel Arsen Ghazaryan had told them that it was the Armenian territory, but the soldiers understood that it was not theirs. At the court, S. Yeghiazaryan refuted those testimonies saying that they had been recorded incorrectly, they did not want to attack the Azerbaijani military and did not know at that time that it was the Azerbaijani territory.

In the course of the trial, Anar Abdullayev and Sadig Huseynov, the employees of the Main Department of Special Operation of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan were interrogated as witnesses.

The State Prosecutor, having addressed to the court, asked the court to exclude charges under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3 and 279.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. He also asked the court to provide information to the relevant structures concerning the initiation of criminal proceedings against the Armenian officials exerting political pressure on the citizens.

The court regarded the request for exclusion of the mentioned articles as a waiver of the state charges under those Articles and terminated the trial on them. The Court found that the charges against all defendants under the Articles 228.3 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic had been fully substantiated and well-founded. The Court also stated that the illegal border crossing by the accused occurred as a result of their official and political dependence, which was a mitigating circumstance. The court did not find any aggravating circumstances in the cases.

On 23 July 2021, the Baku Court of Serious Crimes issued a verdict against the Armenian military servicemen: all the accused were found guilty of committing crimes under the Articles 228.3 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. And they were sentenced:

  • Andranik Mikayelyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Setrak Soghomonyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Rafik Karapetyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Felix Grigoryan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Mels Ambardanyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Manuk Martoyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Arsen Vardanyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Arman Dilanyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Hrayr Tadevosyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Vahagen Bahrikyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Qurqen Goloyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Vagarshak Maloyan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony;
  • Sasun Yeghiazaryan to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal regime colony.

 

Commentary by expert lawyer:

The court verdict is unlawful and unjustified. One of the most important principles of criminal proceedings is legitimacy, according to which the courts and participants of criminal proceedings must strictly observe the provisions of the Azerbaijan Republic Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic, other laws of the Azerbaijan Republic, as well as the International Agreements with the Azerbaijan Republic (Article 10.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. Procedural actions and judgments taken in violation of the requirements specified in this article of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic are invalid (Article 10.5 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic). The obligation to ensure the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms enshrined in the AR Constitution for all individuals taking part in the criminal proceedings is imposed on the bodies conducting the criminal proceedings (Article 12.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic).

According to the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Article 21.3. of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic, an individual accused of committing an offence is not obliged to prove his innocence. The obligation to prove the accusation, to refute the arguments made in defence of the accused, lies on the prosecution.

In view of the above criminal procedure principles, we should consider the evidence that has been submitted to the court by the investigative body. Thus, in addition to the accused’s testimonies, the case contains the testimony of witnesses – two employees of the Main Directorate of the State Security Service’s Special Operations. Their testimonies neither mentioned any of the defendant’s names, nor their involvement in any of the episodes incriminated crimes. The witnesses say “Armenians” or “Armenian terrorists” in a broad description, and there is no indication of the accused’s names in this criminal case.

Another type of evidence is documents from the various Azerbaijani government structures. Yet, even these documents do not contain any mention of the accused’s names or evidence of the crimes they were incriminated to commit. The court verdict is based only on the accused’s own testimonies, which in its turn were inconsistent. The inconsistency of their testimonies the accused explained by their lack of knowledge of the Azerbaijani criminal legislation at the investigation stage, which is a procedural violation on the part of the investigating body.

The rights of the accused are outlined in the Article 91.5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic. In accordance with this Article, the accused has the right to know what he is being charged for (the content of the charge-factuality and the legal qualification of the charge), at the time of the accusation, and immediately upon being taken into custody or a ruling on a preventive measure being announced against him, to receive a copy of the relevant ruling.

According to Article 6 para 3 (a) of the European Convention on Human Rights,

  1. Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:

(a) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him;

In this particular case, the investigative body neglected its duties mandated under the criminal procedural law.

As stated above, the Court excluded charges under the Articles 214.2.1, 214.2.3 and 279.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic and retained the Articles 228.3 and 318.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. The existence or lack of these or those Articles was not substantiated or proven in the Court either. They only referred to the accused’s testimonies who testified that the military groups had been led by the Lieutenant Colonels Arsen Ghazaryan and Artur Muradyan. The Court took that into account and stated that the accused had been in political and administrative dependence and had been forced to proceed to the Azerbaijani territory in order to set up checkpoints there. The accusations were not supported or complemented with other irrefutable evidence.

The evidence basis was insufficient. According to the Article 124.2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic,

  • statements by the suspect, the accused, the victim and witnesses;
  • the expert’s opinion;
  • material evidence;
  • 2.4. records of investigative and court procedures;
  • other documents.

The Article 138.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic states:

Proof shall consist in the obtention, verification and assessment of evidence in order to establish facts of importance for the lawful, thorough and equitable determination of the criminal charge.

Evidence collected for the purposes of prosecution shall be verified fully, thoroughly and objectively. As part of the verification process the items of evidence collected shall be analysed and compared with one another, new evidence shall be collected and the reliability of the source of the evidence obtained shall be established (Article 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic). All evidence shall be assessed as to its relevance, credibility and reliability. The content of all evidence collected for the purposes of prosecution shall be assessed in terms of whether it is sufficient to substantiate the charge (Article 145.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic). And if suspicions which emerge during the process of proving the charge cannot be removed by other evidence, they shall be interpreted in favour of the suspect or accused (Article 145.3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Azerbaijan Republic).

 

The principle of publicity was violated at the trial. Even though the trials had been conducted in so called ”open”, it was just on paper. The trials against the Armenian servicemen aroused great public interest in the light of the 44-day war.

But neither journalists (except those working for the pro-governmental press), nor the public representatives were allowed into the courtroom. This principle of publicity is stipulated in the Article 27.1 of the Azerbaijan Republic Code of Criminal Procedure, where states:

While safeguarding state, professional, commercial, personal and family secrets in accordance with this Code, court hearings in criminal cases and on other prosecution material shall be held publicly in all courts of the Azerbaijan Republic.

The transparency protects defendants from undisclosed justice, which avoids public scrutiny, and constitutes one of the measures to preserve the court’s credibility.

The principle of publicity is also enshrined in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Article 6 (1), and is one of the attributes of a fair trial. In this regard, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in its decision in the case of “Werner v. Austria” dated November 24, 1997, states: “The Court recalls that the principles regulating transparency of judicial proceedings also have a value (significance) for the judgments’ public declaration and pursue the same objective: a fair trial, the guarantee of which is one of the fundamental precepts in any democratic society within the meaning of this Convention.”. https://www.menschenrechte.ac.at/orig/97_6/Werner.pdf

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in its decision in Case of Gautrin and others v. France of 20 May 1998, states: “The Court reiterates that the holding of court hearings in public constitutes a fundamental principle enshrined in Article 6 § 1. This public character protects litigants against the administration of justice without public scrutiny; it is also one of the means whereby people’s confidence in the courts can be maintained. By rendering the administration of justice transparent, publicity contributes to the achievement of the aim of Article 6 § 1, namely a fair trial, the guarantee of which is one of the fundamental principles of any democratic society, within the meaning of the Convention.” – https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{“fulltext”:[“\”CASE%20OF%20GAUTRIN%20AND%20OTHERS%20v.%20FRANCE\””],”documentcollectionid2″:[“GRANDCHAMBER”,”CHAMBER”],”itemid”:[“001-58166”]}

Thus, the investigative body, by failing to provide a sufficient amount of evidence to the court, violated its duties imposed by the legislation of Azerbaijan, and the Court, by recognizing those evidences to be sufficient, issued a groundless and unsubstantiated sentence violating the Norms of the Constitution, Criminal and Procedural Legislation, without referring to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and ignoring the Norms of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.