13 Armenian POWs Sentenced to 6 Years Imprisonment in Azerbaijan Under False Charges

BAKU — A Court in Baku has sentenced 13 Armenian prisoners of war to six years in jail under false charges. The court ruled that after serving the sentence they will be immediately extradited.

The prosecutor asked the court to exclude Articles 214.2.1 and 214.2.3 from the indictment (terrorism committed by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy, by an organized group or criminal association (criminal organization) with the use of firearms and objects used as weapons), 279.2 (attack on enterprises, institutions, organizations or on individuals as part of armed formations or groups not provided for by law).

He called for the defendants to be found guilty under Articles 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan by an organized group) and 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, accessories, ammunition, explosives, etc. committed by an organized group) and assign each of them a punishment in the form of imprisonment for a period of seven years.

In another development, a court in Baku has sentenced a Russian citizen to 10 years in prison on charges of fighting on the Armenian side against Azerbaijan’s armed forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh war last year.

The Baku Court for Major Crimes on July 22 found Sergei Dubakov guilty of terrorism, participation in a criminal group, and illegal border crossing. He was sentenced the same day.

Investigators say Dubakov illegally visited Nagorno-Karabakh, where he joined an illegal Armenian armed group, and took part in military exercises in the Kalbacar district.

Dubakov was detained in January after he arrived in Azerbaijan from Turkey. Investigators say he planned “terrorist and sabotage acts” in Azerbaijan.

Dubakov pleaded not guilty.