On December 19, during a court session in Baku’s military tribunal, former President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan was granted the floor for a final statement. He said he only became aware of many of the alleged war crimes listed in the indictment during the trial itself, according to Minval.az .
“These war crimes have been presented here. To be honest, I became familiar with most of them only here,” he said.
Azerbaijani media report that the prosecution has requested life imprisonment for Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister David Babayan, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, his deputy David Manukyan, and former Speaker of the Artsakh Parliament David Ishkhanyan.
In addition, the prosecution has demanded 20-year sentences for former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, as well as Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan. Other sentence requests include: Garik Martirosyan – 19 years; David Alaverdyan – 18 years; Levon Babayan – 17 years; and 16-year terms for Vasili Beglaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Edik Ghazaryan.
